Sauk County, Wisconsin - The whole text, 1918 (part 7 of 20)

Edv^in S. Clingman. A diligent and progressive citizen of Sauk Couiity, Wisconsin, Edwin S. Clingman is an agriculturist of note in the vicinity of Reedsburg, his finely improved farm of 150 acres being located in Excelsior Township. Mr. Clingman M^as born in Monroe County, this state, May 6, 1862, and he is a son of Daniel and Maria (Siler) Clingman, both natives of Union County, Pennsylvania, where the former was born December 5, 1827, and the latter in the year 1833. The father passed his boyhood and youth in the Keystone state and in 1848, at the age of twenty-one years, went west to Illinois, where he joined his brother, Samuel, who had gone there some years previous. For a number of years Mr. Clingman was engaged in the general merchandise business at Port Clinton, Illinois, but in 1860 he came to Wisconsin and located in Monroe County, where he bought a homestead of eighty acres. In the following year he began his life work as a Methodist Episcopal minister and from 1861 to 1889 was an itinerant preacher in Wisconsin, going from place to place and helping to build churches and to pay off old debts. In 1889 he was appointed a missionary to Mexico and Southern California, and he passed the closing years of his life on a fruit farm in the vicinity of San Diego. He died in 1900, aged seventythree years, and his devoted wife was called to eternal rest in 1903, at the age of seventy years. The Reverend Clingman was a republican and later a prohibitionist. To him and his wife were born three children : Edwin S., of this notice ; Theodore, who died at the age of three years ; and Clara, wife of George Wood, of California.

In the public schools of the numerous places in which the family lived during his boyhood Edwin S. Clingman received his educational training. In 1890 he bought a tract of 200 acres of land in Excelsior Township, subsequently selling fifty acres, so that he now owns an estate of 150 acres. On this land he has erected substantial and modern buildings and in addition to general farming he is engaged in the breeding of Holstein cattle, keeping about thirty head on hand all the time. His political convictions coincide with the principles set forth in the republican party, and for eight years he served with the utmost efficiency as township assessor. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1883 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Clingman to Miss Mary Brimmer, who was born in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in 1864, and who is a daughter of William and Katherine Brimmer, who left Waukesha County in April, 1875, and located in Sauk County. Mr. Brimmer died in Reedsburg, January 16, 1908, aged eighty-six years, and Mrs. Brim- mer died in 1916, aged seventy-three years. They had eighty acres of land, formerly part of the Ira Smith farm in Excelsior Township. Ten children were born to them, as follows: Jacob H., of Madison, Wisconsin; Mary, wife of Mr. Clingman; Thomas, of Reedsburg; William, of Reedsburg ; Frank, of Lavalle ; Catherine, wife of Robert Snyder, of Excelsior Township; Orland and Edward, of Reedsburg; Viola, of Reedsburg ; and Raymond, who married Elsa Randall and lives at Reedsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Clingman have six children, whose names and respective years of birth follow : Amy, 1884 ; Elsa, 1886 ; Myrtle, 1889 ; Earl, 1891, William, 1894, and Gertrude, 1896.

In 1912 Mr. Clingman helped organize the Reedsburg Farm Company, a general produce concern, and he has since served as secretary. He is a stockholder in the Excelsior Creamery Company of Baraboo, and in all his business dealings he has gained prestige as an honorable and upright man.

Gordon H. True, son of John M. and Annie B. True, was born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, December 14, 1868. He attended the public schools of iBaraboo and being interested in the subject of agriculture continued his studies at the University of Wisconsin, taking the long course in agriculture. He was graduated in 1894 from the state institution and immediately took a position as instructor in dairying at Michigan Agricultural College at Lansing, Michigan. He remained there until 1898 when he accepted the professorship of agriculture and animal husbandry in the University of Arizona, where he continued until 1902. From 1902 until 1913 he occupied the chair of agriculture and animal husbandry and was director of the experiment station of the University of Nevada. Since 1913 he has been professor of animal husbandry in the University of California.

At the International Live Stock Show at Chicago in December, 1916, he gained the distinction of winning both the championship and reserved championship on fat steers, shown by him ; these animals having been bred and fed under his direction at the university farm at Davis, California.

George H. Leppla. Sauk County is admirably adapted for the successful prosecution of farming operations, for the soil is fertile and productive, the climatic conditions are excellent for the growing of certain crops, and transportation f?,cilities have been developed to a very satisfactory stage. However, although the agriculturist here has these advantages, he cannot hope to compete successfully with others unless his operations are carried on in line with modern ideas, both as to methods and machinery. That the majority of the farmers in this section are progressive is shov/n by the number of finely improved properties to be found all over the county, a fact that has very materially elevated the standard of excellence here and has placed Sauk among the leading agricultural counties of Wisconsin. One of the men who have assisted in bringing about this desirable condition of affairs is George H. Leppla,

George H. Leppla, like numerous others of his fellow citizens in the county, has passed his entire life on the property he now owns. He was l)orn in 1870, in Sumpter Township, being a son of Peter and Christiana (Zerbel) Leppla. Peter Leppla was born November 24, 1827, in Germany, and in 1852 immigrated to the United States, first locating in New York City, where he made his home for three years. Feeling that he was making no headway there, in 1855 he came to Sumpter Township and settled in the locality known as Stone's Pockets, where he started agricultural operations on 160 acres of unimproved land. In 1859 he was married to Christiana Zerbel, who was born February 23, 1838, at Stettin, Pomerania, Germany, and in 1846 came to the United States with her parents, who first settled near Milwaukee and later moved to Mazomanie, Dane County, where she was living at the time of her marriage to Mr. Leppla. They continued to be engaged in farming in Sumpter Township until 1892, when they retired and moved to Prairie du Sac, where the mother died November 4, 1910, the father surviving until 1915. They were the parents of four children : Carrie, who is the wife of George Prano and lives at Merrimack; Emma, deceased, who was the wife of the late George Huber; Matilda, who is Mrs. Dan Crosby and resides at Merrimack; and George H. The parents of these children were honorable, hardworking people who labored faithfully and industriously to make a good home for their children, and who taught the latter to live honest Christian lives. They were greatly respected in the community in which they spent so many years.

George H. Leppla received his education in the public schools of Sumpter Township and was reared to the life of a farmer, a vocation which he has always followed. At the time of the retirement of his parents he took entire charge of the homestead, and this he has developed into a handsome and valuable farm, on which he carries on general operations, in addition to which he is interested to some extent in stock raising. He has succeeded in both departments of his work and also has outside interests, being a stockholder in the Sumpter Creamery. Politically he is republican. He has been identified with local public affairs, and has served acceptably in the capacities of clerk of the school board and member of the board of township supervisors from the west side of Sumpter Township. He and his famjly are faithful members of the Evangelical Church. His standing in the community is that of an industrious agriculturist, an honorable man of business and a good and public-spirited citizen.

Mr. Leppla was married in 1900 to Miss Sulla Accola, a daughter of John and Agnes (Nigg) Accola. John Accola was born October 4, 1849, in Prairie du Sac Township, Sauk County, and has been engaged in general farming on the same property all his life. Mrs. Accola, who also survives, was born November 26, 1847, in Switzerland, and was eighteen years of age when she accompanied her mother to the United States. Mr. and Mrs. Accola are members of the Reformed Church and their children have been as follows : Anna, born in 1868, the wife of Andrew Hosig and a resident of Black Hawk ; Lizzie, born in 1870, who is single and resides with her parents; Sulla, now Mrs. Leppla, barn in 1874; Valentine, born in 1876, married and a resident of Sumpter Township ; John, born in 1878, married and a resident of Merrimack ; Agnes, born in 1880, the wife of Fred Haberman and a resident of Prairie du Sac; Barbara, born in 1882, the wife of George Lusby, of Black Hawk; Lena, born in 1885, residing in Idaho and the wife of Frank Potinger; George, born in 1888, single and living in Montana; Mary, the wife of Ed Reckord, living in Montana; and Kate, born in 1894, who is Mrs. Gilbert Gasner and a resident of Black Hawk.

Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leppla, namely : Lewis, who is seventeen years old ; Berniee, who is fifteen ; Aaron, who died at the age of two years ; and Glen, who is twelve years of age.

William J. Power. For so many years that the memory of living citizens in Baraboo runs not to the contrary, a large part of the local tailoring business has been in the hands of the Power family. William J. Power is perhaps the oldest merchant tailor in continuous business at Baraboo, and his father was in business before him, beginning nearly half a century ago. It is one of the old and substantial family names of Sauk County.

The City of Baraboo was the birthplace of William J. Power, where he was born September 28, 1865. His parents were William and Catherine (Mitchell) Power, both natives of Ireland. His father was born in 1828 and iiis mother in the same year. William Power came to Baraboo in 1854. Miss Mitchell after coming to America lived a few years in Massachusetts and in 1859 came to Baraboo, and in that year they were married. William Power had learned the trade of tailor and in 1869 he established a tailoring shop in Baraboo and continued actively in business until his death twenty years later, in 1889, at the age of sixty-one years. His widow survived him until 1913, and her death came at the age of eightysix. They were the parents of three children: Mary F., wife of J. W. Moran, of Baraboo; Nellie A., who died in 1903, the wife of C. J. Sharkey, of Portage, Wisconsin; and William J., the youngest.

Reared and educated in Baraboo, William J. Power after leaving the public schools learned the tailor's trade by a thorough apprenticeship under the direction of his father. He entered business with his father and continued it after his death and for many years his shop at 410 Oak Street has been the headquarters for the men of taste and discrimination in good clothes.

Mr. Power is a republican in politics. He has served as alderman from the second ward and for a number of years was chief of the fire department of Baraboo. He is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his family are active in the Catholic Church,

He was married July 29, 1908, to Mrs. Jane Hopkins, of Baraboo, who was born in Ireland. They are the parents of one son, James William, born August 5, 1909.

Among other distinctions associated with this name in Sauk County was a creditable military service rendered by the late William Power during the Civil war. At Madison in January, 1862, he enlisted in

Company H of the Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry and bore himself as a courageous and faithful soldier for one year and ten days. He was always an esteemed member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Both he and his wife were very loyal Catholics.

Fred Wofpenschmidt, One of the agriculturists of Sauk County who has spent his entire life within its borders is Fred Woffenschmidt, who, beginning without capital, has progressed through his innate qualities of industry, perseverance, economy and integrity to the ownership of a highly productive and valuable farm and the position of a substantial, influential and useful member of the community. Mr. Woffenschmidt is a representative of a family which has resided in Sauk County since the early '50s and whose members have been, in the main, engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has kept pace with the advancements made during the long period of years in which his home has been located here, and, having made the most of his opportunities, has steadily risen to the accomplishment of a worthy and honorable success.

Fred Woffenschmidt was born on a farm in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, November 19, 1858, and is a son of Christian and Catherine (Murphy) Woffenschmidt. Christian Woffenschmidt was born at Heilbronn, Germany, and was a young man when, during the '40s, he immigrated to the United States in search of the opportunities which he had heard were offered to those Avith ambition and energy. He first made his home in the State of New Jersey, where he remained for about ten years, but decided that he was not making rapid enough progress and accordingly set his face toward to West and eventually located in Sauk County, Wisconsin, taking up land in Honey Creek Township. There he became, through purchase, the owner of a good farm, which he sold in 1862, in which year he moved to Merrimack Township, in the meantime having spent a short period in Sumpter Township. The Township of Merrimack continued to be his home until his death, which occurred in 1884. Mr. Woffenschmidt was a man of tireless industry, and while he spent the spring, summer and fall months in farming, in the winters he worked at his trade, that of a cooper, which he had learned in his youth in his native land. He was a republican from the birth of that party, and while he never sought public office was a stanch supporter of his party's principles and candidates. Throughout his life he was a faithful member of the Methodist Church. In 1849 Mr. Woffenschmidt was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Murphy, who had been born in Ireland and came to this county as a young woman, and they became the parents of the following children : John, who is a resident of Minnesota ; Henry, who was living in Sumpter Township at the time of his death in 1891 ; Laura, who is the wife of Frank Wheeler and resides at Muscoda, Wisconsin; Fred, of this review; Mary, who died in 1913, as the wife of William Orajan, of Barron County, Wisconsin : Christian, who is engaged in farming operations in Merrimack Township ; Fmma, who died at the age nf fourteen years ; Minnie, whose death occurred in her twelfth year; one cbiM who died in infancy; and Carrie, who is the wife of Ed Gatt winkle and lives on a farm in Sumpter Township.

Fred Woffenschmidt grew up on his father's farm and during the winter terms attended the district schools of Sumpter and Merrimack townships. From the start of his career farming has been his vocation, and the success that has attended his efforts has been brought about through his willingness to work hard, his ability to recognize opportunities, and the able manner in which he has managed his business affairs. He is now the owner of 250 acres of land, the property formerly known as the Young farm in Sumpter Township, which he has brought to a high state of cultivation and upon which he has made numerous modern improvements, including a good and substantial set of buildings. He uses modern methods in his general farming, and is considered one of the best stockmen of his community, his pure-bred Clydesdale and Norman horses being a particular feature of his work. While he has always been a stanch republican and a citizen who has realized and taken care of his civic responsibilities, he has found no time to engage in the game of politics.

Mr. Woffenschmidt was married in 1883 to Miss Rosella Gattwinkle, and they have four children : Arthur, who is married and superintends the work on his father's farm; Guy, who is single and works at farming in the county; Fred, who assists his brother Arthur; and Maud, the wife of Ed Muckler, who owns a farm in Sumpter Township and has one child, Dean Edward.

George Schwarz. One of the prosperous farmers of Freedom Township, Sauk County, who conducts his extensive operations with method and good judgment, is George Schwarz, who is also one of the county's most respected residents. He was born in Freedom Township, on his present farm, May 26, 1867, His parents were George and Philapena (Cook) Schwarz,

The parents of George Schwarz were born, reared and married in Germany and from there they came to the United States in 1864, and settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That was only a temporary home, .however, because Mr. Schwarz wanted to secure a farm and establish himself permanently, so that in 1866 the family came to Sauk County, Wisconsin, Here Mr. Schwarz bought a farm of eighty acres situated in Freedom Township and set about clearing it and subsequently bought another tract of eighty acres and cleared that also and made of his holdings a very valuable estate. His death occurred on this farm September 7, 1901, when he was aged sixty-four years. His widow yet survives, at the age of eighty-two years, and lives at Westfield, Wisconsin. They had the following children : Bertha, George, Emma, Philapena, William and Clotilda, two being deceased.

George Schwarz, bearing his father's name and having a like enterprising and industrious spirit, attended the public schools in Freedom Township and has been engaged all his life since boyhood in agricultural pursuits. He is the owner of the old homestead of 160 acres and to this has added what is known locally as the Judvine farm, a tract of eighty-four acres, and has placed modern improvements on the entire property. He is a general farmer, dividing his time between grain and

Mr. Schwarz was married December 3, 1890, to Miss Emma Voss, who was born in Germany, February 12, .1871, and is a daughter of Christof and Dora (Bogeman) Voss, who came from Germany to Sauk County in 1878. The mother died here and the father resides at North Freedom.

To Mr. and Mrs. Schwarz eight children have been born, as follows: William Herman, Selma, George Walter, Bertha, Harry, Edward, Ella and Arthur Christof. William Herman, the eldest born, is his father's valued helper on the farm.

In politics Mr. Schwarz is a republican and for sixteen years he has been a member of the school board, a careful, intelligent man who realizes that this is an important responsibility. Mr. Schwarz and family belong to the Lutheran Church. They are kind, hospitable people and have many friends in the county.

August L. Manthey, who is now living retired in the Village of Ableman, has been a resident of Sauk County since 1865. He was born in Prussia, August 10, 1852, and was there reared to the age of thirteen years, at which time, in 1865, he accompanied his parents to the United States. His father was a farmer and Baptist minister and was a man of considerable influence and prominence in this county. His name was Carl Frederick Manthey and further data concerning his career are given elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of his son Henry F. Manthey.

On coming to Sauk County August Lorenz Manthey attended several sessions in the log schoolhouse in Excelsior Township and his teachers were John Young and Myra Wetherby. After leaving school he assisted his father in the work of the old homestead, of which he and his brother Henry F. each received eighty acres. He has since purchased additional land and now owns a finely improved estate of 160 acres. He cleared most of his land and erected several modern buildings and devotes his time to general farming and stock raising. In politics he is a stalwart republican and he has served his home community in several official positions of importance. He was chairman of the Excelsior board of supervisors for one year and has held a similar office in Ableman for two years, but recently resigned from that position. It was he who made the motion to erect a bridge across the Wisconsin River at Spring Green. His residence is in the Village of Ableman.

In the year 1878 Mr. Manthey married Miss Sadie Veith, whose birth occurred in Dane County, Wisconsin, August 18, 1854, and who is a daughter of Hironnius and Frances (Herkins) Veith, pioneer settlers in Dane County. Mr. and Mrs. Veith were married in Dane County and to them were born the following children : Bernard, Anna (deceased), Sadie, Dina, Fi-ank (deceased), George and Gerhardt (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Manthey have no children. They are kindly, hospitable people and are always ready to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy. They are members of the local Baptist Church, to whose good works they are liberal contributors, and they command the high esteem of all with whom they have come in contact.

James Curry, now living on a small farm in the outskirts of Baraboo, is one of the few living old-time stage drivers in Sauk County. An addendum to that statement should include Mrs. Curry in the list ; for she was not only the domestic head of the household, but, upon numerous occasions, proved that she was about as good a driver and all-around horseman as Mr. Curry himself. Mr. Curry is an Ohio man, his parents coming to Janesville, Wisconsin, when he was about thirteen years of age. That, however, proved to be only a temporary stopping place ; for within a month or so the family continued their wagon trip to Baraboo. The father was a plasterer and busied himself at his trade all his manhood life. Jim naturally assisted him, and, as a side issue, commenced to drive stage for Moore & Davis's old company. After the death of Mr. Davis, and later, he acquired a stage and mail route of his own, as elsewhere narrated in detail. After the railroad crowded him out of that business, in the fall of 1873, he engaged in farming, and in 1891 bought about five acres on Fourteenth Street, Baraboo, which, with the still faithful assistance of his wife, he has since cultivated. Mrs. Curry, formerly Miss Elizabeth McCann, is a Canadian of good Irish ancestry. They were married in 1864, have a married son and three grandchildren, and one would have to go far and search carefully before a more wholesome and contented old couple could be found.

Alger C. Pearson. One of the youngest of the United States Government's appointees of the year 1916 was Alger C. Pearson, who on July 10th of that year, when but several months past his majority, was appointed postmaster of Baraboo. Prior to this time his experience had been entirely of an agricultural character, but on assuming the duties of his office he at once showed himself possessed of the abilities necessary to the proper handling of the mails of this live and enterprising city, and the people of Baraboo have had no reason to complain of the service that they have thus far received under his administration.

Alger C. Pearson was born on a farm two miles south of Baraboo, February 19, 1895, a son of Charles L. and Blanche (Hessel grave) Pearson. He belongs to a pioneer family of Wisconsin, his grandfather, Levi Pearson, a native of New York, having come to this state during the frontier days and settled on a property fourteen miles northeast of Portage. There he reclaimed a farm from the wilderness, devoted himself to agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, and in later years moved to the farm on which his grandson was born. He became one of the substantial men of his community and died in comfortable circumstances and with the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, among whom he was known as a reliable and honorable man of business. Charles L. Pearson was born on the farm which was originally settled by his father, and was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents to the property south of Baraboo. Here he has since passed his life. When he came to an age at which he was expected to make a choice of vocations he adopted that of agriculture, and that his course was well chosen is shown in the fact that he is now one of the substantial farmers of his locality. He has brought his property to a state of fertility and productiveness that makes it one of the most valuable in this section, and his various commercial and financial interests make his name well known in business circles. Mr. Pearson has been a lifelong democrat, and has been frequently honored by election to offices of importance. After serving in a number of township and county positions he was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, and during his term in that body represented his constituents' interests well and established a good record for consistent and energetic work. Mrs. Pearson was born on a farm near Lodi, Wisconsin, and made her home there until her marriage. She and Senator Pearson became the parents of six children: Gladys, who is the wife of Hardy Spencer, of Baraboo ; Alpha, who is the wife of Russell Tye, of Hazelton, North Dakota; Alger C, who is a twin of Alpha; and Armour, Helen and Berenice, who live with their parents on the farm. Alger C. Pearson received his education in the country schools of Sauk County, was reared as an agriculturist, and remained under the parental roof until his appointment, July 10, 1916, to the office of postmaster of Baraboo. He at once took charge of the duties of the office in an energetic and conscientious manner, and under his direction the mails are being handled expeditiously, accurately and smoothly. This is a second-class office, and the duties are important and exacting, but in spite of his youth Postmaster Pearson has discharged them in a satisfying way. He is courteous and obliging and has already attracted to him numer6us staunch friends among the people of Baraboo. Mr. Pearson cast his first vote in 1916 and supported President Wilson. He is a member of the Congregational Church.

JuDSON W. Watebbury. One of the names that is well known to the people of Sauk County as standing for expert agricultural ability and sound citizenship is that of Waterbury, which was established in this county as early as 1842 by a pioneer settler, J. I. Waterbury. From that day to the present those who have borne the name have been men of stability and character, for the greater part agriculturists who have helped to develop to county's farming interests and at the same time have contributed to its progress as a lawful and desirable part of the country. A worthy representative of this old and honored Sauk County family is found in the person of Judson W, Waterbury, whose entire life has been passed here and who is now the owner of a handsome farm in Sumpter Township.

Mr. Waterbury, who is a nephew of the pioneer above named, was bom on the farm which he now owns in Sumpter Township, Sauk County, Wisconsin, July 1, 1867, and is a son of George W. and Jennie (Frizzell) Waterbury. George W. Waterbury was born in Saint Lawrence County, New York, and in 1848, acting upon the advice of his brother, J. I., who had come here six years before, he journeyed to Sauk County and secured 160 acres of land, on which he remained for a short time, then returning to the Empire state. In 1850 he again came to Wisconsin, that time to remain permanently, and, having developed his first property, during the period of the Civil war he purchased an additional 160 acres from Mr. Underwood, for which he paid $2,500, the top-notch price -at that time. He continued to follow farming until 1895, in which year he retired from active work and moved to Prairie du Sac, where his death occurred July 9, 1911, when he was eighty years of age. His early years here had been passed with his parents, with whom he lived until his marriage to Jennie Frizzell, who was born at Montpelier, Vermont. They became the parents of six children, namely : Clayton, who is married and resides at Knapp, Wisconsin; Charles F., who was married and resided in Minnesota until his death in 1912; Judson W., of this notice; E. S., who is married and lives at Chicago, where for the past twenty years he has been connected with the big packing and provision firm of Morris Packing Company ; I. J., who is a resident of Minnesota and a machinist in the employ of the Big Four Tractor Works; and Mary E., who is the wife of William B. Anderson, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, who did seven years of post-graduate work and is now head of the Physic department of the University of Oregon and resides at Crovallis, where their home has been for three years.

Judson W. Waterbury received his education in the schools of Prairie du Sac, following which, in 1888 and 1889, he pursued a commercial course in a business college at Valparaiso, Indiana. Returning to his home, he resumed his labors in assisting his father to cultivate the home farm, and in 1894 was married and started housekeeping. In the following year his parents removed to Prairie du Sac and he took charge of the farm, which he operated on shares for about six years and then purchased. He has added to his holdings to some extent and now owns 360 acres of fertile land, which he has brought up to a high state of productiveness. Mr. Waterbury has up-to-date improvements on his property and a good set of substantial buildings, and his agi'icultural operations are carried on in the most approved scientific manner. He raises all the crops that can be grown in this section and is considered a good, commonsense farmer, who keeps thoroughly alive to the agricultural developments being made, and who is cognizant of the possibilities of his vocation.

In 1894 Mr. Waterbury was united in marriage with Miss Alice L. Shell, a daughter of William and Kate (Mack) Shell, and they have two children: Eva K., who is attending a young ladies' school. Downer College, at Milwaukee; and William, who is attending the high school at Prairie du Sac. Mr. and Mrs. Waterbury and their children belong to the Methodist Church. He is a member of the Guardians of Liberty. In political matters he takes an independent stand, it being his idea to vote for the man rather than for the party.

Alvah G. Glover, a veteran of the Civil war, has been a resident of Sauk County almost half a century. He did his big work in civil life as a farmer, and for many years owned and occupied a considerable tract of land within the city limits of Baraboo. He is now retired and after providing liberally for his family of children has sufficient for his own needs through the rest of his days.

Mr. Glover is a native of Maine, in which state he was born October 8, 1843. His parents, Freeman and Hannah (Chase) Glover, were also natives of Maine. The mother died in that state in 1856. The father some years later came out to Sauk County, Wisconsin, and bought a farm in Greenfield Township on which he lived until his death. He was the father of ten children, four sons and six daughters, and the

Alvah Gr. Glover grew up in his native state, had only a public school education, and was quite a youth when he enlisted on July 28, 1862, in Company K of the Eleventh Maine Infantry. He gave faithful and gallant service as a soldier of the Union, and was with his regiment until granted his honorable discharge on June 12, 1865. Having fulfilled his duty to his country he went back to his native state, but in a short time removed to Pennsylvania and after two years there came in the fall of 1867 to Sauk County, Wisconsin. He acquired a material interest in the county by the purchase of twenty acres of land in Greenfield Township. Somewhat later he sold this small farm to his father, and then bought eighty-five acres in the city limits of Baraboo. He farmed that place steadily for a period of eighteen years, and eventually sold it to the Iron Company. Mr. Glover now lives retired at 424 Guppy Street.

He is a republican in politics. For about thirty-five years he has been a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is affiliated with the Guardians of Liberty and is a member of the Christian Advent Church at Baraboo.

In 1868 he married Miss Rhoda A. Prothero, of Baraboo. Four children have been born to their union : Alice Alberta, who died in Old Mexico; Cora Bell; Claude E.; and Ethel May, who died January 16, 1915, at the age of twenty-eight years.

Alfred Trueb. Many productive and useful years have come and gone since Alfred Trueb took active, charge of the farm where he now resides in Honey Creek Township near the Village of Plain. Mr. Trueb is one of the progressive and successful men of Sauk County and has spent all his life in this one community.

He was born on the home farm where he now resides on August 24, 1859. His parents, John and Elizabeth (Walder) Trueb, were both born in Switzerland, were married there, and arrived in Sauk County in 1854. On coming to this county John Trueb bought the homestead of 160 acres. Thirty acres had already been cleared, but it was largely through his individual industrious efforts that the remaining acreage was subdued to the uses of agriculture. Subsequently he acquired by tax sale forty acres more in Troy Township. John Trueb had much to do and very little to do with in the early days. He used oxen to perform the heavy work of the farm and also the hauling of produce to market at Merrimack and Spring Green. The breaking of the virgin soil was also performed with ox teams. His chief crops as a farmer were wheat and hops. John Trueb continued the active management of the old home farm until 1884, when he turned it over to his son Alfred and then went to live with his older daughter in Honey Creek Township, where he died in 1899. His wife passed away in 1878. They had six children : Anna, wife of Fred Mellentine, who died in Honey Creek Township in 1916 ; Barbara, who taught school for a number of years, and afterwards married M. Phifer and died in 1884; Mary, Mrs. Rudolf Alexander, living on a farm in South Dakota ; Herman, who is married and lives in South Dakota; Salina, who died in childhood; and Alfred.

All these children grew up on the old home farm and received their education in the local district school. Alfred Trueb has always lived at home and in 1884 he married, and from that time forward has managed the home place. The maiden name of his wife was Augusta Militine. They have one child, Lily, Mrs. Paul Zech. The mother of this daughter died, and in 1896 Mr. Trueb married Emelia Geise. They have a family of five children, all of them still at home, constituting a bright and attractive family circle. Their names are Edna, Lurena, Gilbert, William and Esther.

Since taking over the old homestead thirty-three years ago Mr. Trueb has done much to increase its productiveness and its value. He has rebuilt many of the farm structures and now has under his individual ownership 304 acres. This is devoted to mixed farming, and he has something more than a local reputation as a stock raiser and dairyman. He has been successful in the breeding of Norman horses and the Shorthorn Durham cattle. Mr. Trueb is a stockholder in the Sauk City Creamery. He is a republican and his family are members of the Black Hawk Church.

Lawrence Keller. Since its establishment in Sauk County in 1854 the occupation of farming has received decided impetus through the labor and good judgment of the members of the Keller family. Those bearing this name have steadfastly endeavored to increase or maintain the production of the land without exhausting the soil of its fertility, and thus have proven helpful factors in keeping agricultural standards high in their community. A well-known and worthy representative of this family is Lawrence Keller, who has lived all his life in Sauk County and who is now the owner of land in Sumpter and Freedom townships. It has been his fortune to have succeeded in the vocation in which his forefathers engaged and at the same time to have established a reputation as a sound and stable citizen.

Mr. Keller was born on the homestead place in the Township pf Sumpter in 1876, his parents being John and Minnie (Tholke) Keller. His father came from Albany, New York, in 1854, and settled with the grandfather of Lawrence Keller in Sumpter Township. In 1861 his father enlisted in the Sixth Wisconsin Battery for service during the Civil war, and fought bravely as a soldier of the Union. Upon his return from his military duties he resumed farming on the home place, but in 1868, at the time of his marriage, moved to another place. He continued to carry on general farming there until 1888, when he rented his property and went to Prairie du Sac, where, in partnership with Mr. Waffel he started an implement business, and remained in that enterprise for three years. This business is now conducted by J. P. Doll & Co. Returning to the farm- in 1891, he resumed the tilling of the soil. In 1897 he opened the Commercial House at Prairie du Sac and continued its proprietor for two years, at the same time carrying on his farm. In March, 1911, he retired from business and his death occurred at Prairie du Sac in 1914. Mrs. Keller still survives and resides at that place. John Keller was one of the highly respected men of his community and served for a time as a member of the township board. He and Mrs. Keller were members of the Evangelical Church and were the parents of twelve children, as follows: John E., who lives in the State of Washington; Ollie, who died at the age of twelve years; U. C, who was clerk of the County Court for six years and now lives at Prairie du Sac ; Eugene, who died at the age of eleven years; Lawrence; Benjamin, who died in infancy; Leo, who is engaged in farming in the State of Oregon ; Reuben, who is also engaged in farming in that state ; Addie, the wife of Henry Kinzler, who operates the Sumpter Creamery in Sumpter Township ; H. R., who resides on a farm near Stratford, Wisconsin ; Lulu, who is the wife of AVilliam Roaper, a foreman in construction work at Madison, Wisconsin; and Sena, who is the wife of Ralph Southerland, a painter of Baraboo, Wisconsin.

The public schools of Sumpter Township furnished Lawrence Keller with his educational training while he was growing to manhood on the nome farm. The mere fact of a man being born on a farm does not by any means make of him a farmer, but Mr. Keller's training was such that he has been able to realize a profit from his operations through up-to-date business methods. Such results require clear-headed ability possessed only by the practical farmer, such as Mr, Keller, who commenced with an understanding of his vocation and thus has been able to follow it up with success. He has engaged in general farming and stock raising, in both of which departments of farm work he has been prosperous, and his property, which consists of eighty acres in Sumpter Township and twenty acres in Freedom Township, shows evidehce of the presence of industry and able management.

Mr. Keller was married in 1903 to Miss Minna Baumgarth, a graduate of the Sauk City High School and a successful rural school teacher for a number of years. She was the daughter of Henry and Hedwig (Vogel) Baumgarth. Her father, who was a farmer in Troy Township, died when she was a small child, leaving a widow and four children as follows: Edward C, a farmer in Town of Sumpter; Dr. Henry, a dentist in Chicago; Minna; and Alma, the wife of Reuben R. Keller, of Millican, Oregon. The mother was subsequently married to George Walser, and now resides at Sauk City. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are the parents of two children : Marvel, bom January, 1905, and Theon J., born March, 1906. Mr. Keller is a republican, and while not a politician, takes a keen interest in affairs of his community. He is fraternally affiliated with the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has numerous friends.

Thaddeus Banks Hanger has found his work and has profited from his business as a farmer in Freedom Township. He is one of the highly respected residents of that locality and in the estimation of his friends and acquaintances has fully deserved all the success that has followed his efforts.

Though a resident of Sauk County most of his life, Mr. Hanger was bom in Pennsylvania March 28, 1853. He is a son of Jacob and Matilda Jane (Shirley) Hanger. His father was born in Germany, and came to America when still unmarried as did his wife. They were married in Pennsylvania and made their home in Lycoming County of that state until i866, when they came to Wisconsin. From Kilbourn they journeyed with wagon and team into Freedom Township of Sauk County and located on the fann now owned hy Thaddeus B. Later the father retired to Reedsburg, where he died at the age of seventy-seven, and his widow passed away in that town in 1901, aged eighty-five. Their children were : John Calvert, Ann, Thaddeus B., Alice Viola and William Henry, The father was a democrat in politics and the family had long been identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Thaddeus Banks Hanger was thirteen years of age when he came ta Sauk County. He attended the public schools of Pennsylvania and also had a few terms of instruction in Freedom Township of Sauk County. In early life he took up the trade of plasterer and stone mason, and after his marriage he lived in the Village of North Fi-eedom until 1902, when he moved to his present farm in Freedom Township. As a farmer he handles 120 acres of fertile and well-managed land, and keeps some high-grade Holstein cattle. Most of the improvements on the farm have been made by his labor or under his direction. He has one of the best barns in this part of the county, a gambrel roof structure 32 by 66 feet, Mr. Hanger is a republican in politics and for some years has served on the school board.

April 16, 1879, he married Miss Mary Murphy. She was born in Westfield Township of Sauk County June 30, 1860, daughter of Richard and Mary (Larken) Murphy. Both her parents were born in Ireland and were brought to this country when young and were married in Ohio, settling in Westfield Township of Sauk County in the early '50s. Mary Larken was a daughter of Andrew and Margaret Larken, whose names should be recorded among the pioneer settlers of Sauk County. They spent their last years on their farm in Westfield Township. Richard Murphy died in March, 1882, while his widow survived to the advanced age of ninety-one, passing away May 15, 1917. They had seven children : Jennie, Margaret, Daniel, Mary, William, who died in 1912, at the age of "fifty, Morris and Richard.

Mr. and Mrs. Hanger had a family, of five children: Bruce Max, the oldest, is living in Denver, Colorado, and by his marriage to Miss Kate Reger has one son, Bruce. Glenn is still a factor at home and has a large share of the responsibilities connected with the farm. Pearl is the wife of Roy Miner, of North Freedom, and they have one child, Clifford Thaddeus. Clinton is now a bookkeeper in the Pennsylvania Railway offices at Chicago, and married Blanche Douglas. The fifth and youngest child was named Clifford Thaddeus and died in infancy.

William Stoeckmann is one of the live and progressive citizens of Ableman, has lived in that community thirty-five years and almost continuously has been identified with the quarry industry, which is so important in that section of Sauk County. He is now superintendent of the largest quarries around Ableman, and has other financial interests and in. various ways has served the welfare of the community.

Mr. Stoeckmann was born in Germany, January 8, 1861. His parents, Michael and Caroline Stoeckmann, came to America and located in Ableman in 1882. The father acquired a tract of land in Excelsior Township and out of it developed a first-class farm. He finally sold his agri- cultural interests and is still living, at the age of eighty-four, with his daughter, Mrs. James Sprul, at North Freedom. The wife and mother died in 1907, when about seventy years of age. Michael Stoeckmann was a republican in politics and an active member of the Baptist Church. He and his wife had five children : William ; Albert, a farmer in Excelsior Township; Theodore, of Ableman; Bertha, wife of James Sprul; and Charles, who is a minister of the Baptist Church now stationed at St. Paul, Minnesota.

William Stoeckmann was about twenty-one years of age when he came with his parents to Wisconsin. He had grown up in his native land, had attended the common schools of that country, and had learned the value of honest toil before he arrived in Sauk County. He put his sturdy energy to good account as a workman in the stone quarries of the Northwestern Railroad. After two years there he entered the employ of W. G. LaRue, and has been with that great quarry industry continuously since that date. In September, 1916, he was made superintendent of the quarries and handles the practical operations of the business. In 1908 Mr. Stoeckmann built a fine home at Ableman and he and his family now live in very congenial and comfortable surroundings. Mr. Stoeckmann is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Ableman and in the Ableman Co-operative Creamery Association.

He has been a member of the council, a village trustee and for several years was president of the council but finally resigned that office. In politics his support iS given to the republican party. Mr. Stoeckmann and family are members of the Lutheran Church.

In 1887 he married Miss Ida Gall, of Ableman, daughter of Daniel Gall and member of a well-known Sauk County family elsewhere referred to in this publication. Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckmann have seven children : Martha, Mabel, Mary, Madeline, Reuben, Viola and Lillian, all of whom are living. Two daughters are married, and Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckmann have three grandchildren. Martha is the wife of Fred Jolitz, and their two children are Alvera and Jane. Mabel is the wife of Herman Doro and has one daughter, Ida.

W. A. Johnson, the venerable citizen of Baraboo, is one of the oldest natives of the county, having been born on Sauk Prairie in 1841. His parents came to the county in early middle life and purchased Government land on the west side of the prairie, where they both died in the early '90s. The father, who was a blacksmith, as well as a carpenter and stone mason, built and operated the first mill for grinding corn in Sauk County. He had a blacksmith shop on his farm. The head of the family had four sons in the Civil war, Benjamin, George W., Judge William A., and D. Joseph. After the war the latter went to North Dakota, where he took up a soldier's homestead of a quarter section and purchased an additional 120 acres. As a farmer and leading resident of Barnes Covmty he served as county commissioner for five years and as county .judge for twelve. He was also repeatedly selected as a delegate to various state conventions. In 1907 Judge Johnson returned to his native county and located at Baraboo, where he has since resided. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson celebrated their golden wedding on November 6, 1917,

Herman E. Stone has lived in Sauk County all his life. In fact he has never been beyond the county limits for more than a month at a time. In view of the prosperity that he won as a substantial farmer in Sumpter Town and the high standing he enjoys as a citizen, now living retired at Baraboo, he is extremely loyal to his native section, and is one of the men who have not only seen Sauk County grow from small beginnings but has borne his own individual care and responsibility in that growth and advancement.

He was born in the Town of Sumpter, Sauk County, September 14, 1849, a son of Ransom E. and Lydia Lathrop (Tracy) Stone. His parents were both born in St. Lawrence County, New York, the father on November 17, 1813, and the mother on December 14, 1819. They grew up and married there on September 3, 1844, and just two years later, in 1846, they arrived in Wisconsin and located on a tract of land in the Town of Sumpter, which as yet had few settlers and only here and there had clearings been made in the forest. To the degree that all sturdy, persistent and honorable men prospered in that time and generation, Ransom Stone also prospered, and he lived a life of quiet influence and substantial effort. Before he came to Wisconsin he was a teacher in New York State, and at one time, under the old system, he served as county superintendent of schools in Sauk County. He was also for many years chairman of the town, and after the formation of that party became a loyal adherent of republican principles. He died March 6, 1884, and his wife passed away September 9, 1895. There were seven children : Oren, who lives at Riverside, California ; Orlando E., of Prairie du Sac, but spends his winters in California; Herman E. ; Martha, wife of Edwin Kiiapp, of California ; Florence, of California ; Isabel, wife of Charles Crawford ; A. W. Stone, who for thirty years was a prominent banker and real estate owner in Kingsbury County, South Dakota, where he died in July, ' 1915.

Herman E. Stone grew up on the old farm established by his father in the town of Sumpter, attended the schools maintained in that community, and then applied his best energies to making a home for himself, and he continued to be identified with farming there until six years ago, when he retired to a comfortable home in the City of Baraboo. He started out on a farm adjoining the old home place and later bought the homestead and still owns that place. At one time he was owner of between 500 and 600 acres, and two of his sons now have the active farm management. Mr. Stone is a republican, served fourteen years as chairman of the town and was town clerk eight years. He resigned the office of chairman when he came to Baraboo. At the present time Mr. Stone is one of the three trustees of the Sauk County Poor Farm and Asylum, and is also attending to the duties of county humane officer.

On November 10, 1875, he married Miss Mary Matilda Lenich, who was born in Reedsburg, Sauk County, in 1855, daughter of Joseph Lenich. With all the satisfaction that might be derived from his material accomplishments Mr. Stone feels that the best results of his life are represented in his noble sons and daughters, nine in number. Lyman E., the oldest, is now one of the active managers of the old homestead in the town of

Sumpter; Ethel is the wife of Irwin Winter, of Cameron, Wisconsin. Mabel is the wife of H. A. Swanson, of Clay Center, Nebraska. Allen lives in the town of Sumpter. Birdie married Jacob Weirich, of the Town of Greenfield. Truman R. is associated with his brother Allen in the management of the old farm. Gladys lives at home. Iva is attending school at Clay Center, Nebraska. Lila, the youngest, is also a member of the home circle.

Frank Herport, proprietor of the Frank Herfort Canning Company, has given Baraboo one of its best and most highly specialized industries. It is a business that means a great deal to the welfare and permanent prosperity of the city and the surrounding country. It has made possible the intensive cultivation of land, it furnishes employment to a great many people and through its products serves to make the name Baraboo better known to the world at large.

While now a business leader in this Wisconsin City, Frank Herfort began life under peculiarly inauspicious circumstances. He was a poor boy and in addition lost his father when he was still a child and has been dependent upon his own exertions since an age when most boys are considered children and still under the watchful care of home and school teachers.

Mr. Herfort, though his life has largely been spent in Sauk County, was born in Germany August 1, 1860, a son of Florian and Maria (Mann) Herfort. He spent about six or seven years of his early life in Germany and attended one term of school there. The family then immigrated to America, locating in Baraboo, Wisconsin, on August 1, 1867. His father was a shoemaker by trade and worked in the shop now known as the Dibble Shoe Shop at Baraboo. He did not long survive after coming to this country and passed away in May, 1868, leaving five sons : August F., Joseph and Carl, all now deceased ; Paul and Frank. The mother of these children died in 1885.

After coming to Baraboo Mr. Frank Herfort attended the public schools, but at the age of ten years he began earning wages. He worked in a local nursery for fifty cents a day, and for one year was employed by a local business house at wages of board and clothing. The following year his experience enabled him to demand five dollars a month. He was assigned to the work of delivering the goods for the store, and delivered them all in a wheelbarrow. He continued clerking for eight years, and while part of his wages went to the upkeep of the family he managed by dint of the greatest economy and thrift to save $230. He had a young friend, F. C. Peck, who had accumulated a capital of $300. Put together this capital enabled the young men to start a grocery business of their own. Later they changed to dry goods. Their first store was on the South Side, where the Schey Store is now located, and later they were where the Peck Mercantile House now stands. The firm was Peck & Herfort, and it was a prosperous and thriving business. Mr. Herfort finally sold out to his partner in 1902 and then engaged in the general merchandise business on Third Street. That location he retained for five years, but in 1907 sold out to engage in the canning business.

Mr. Herfort bought the old canning factory at Baraboo and under his stimulating direction the business has never failed to return a profit both to its owners and to the community at large. On April 9, 1915, the entire establishment was wiped out by fire, but it was rebuilt and ready for operation by August of the same year. It is now conducted on a larger and better scale than ever. During the canning season from 100 to 150 people are employed and twenty-five teams are also necessary to handle the business. The year around the factory employs on the average about twenty persons. The factory has an output of about 100,000 cases and during the season it is operated to the limit of its capacity. The special products of the Frank Herfort Canning Company are peas and corn. The company owns lands upon which are produced about a third of the crop canned, while individual growers in and around Baraboo raise the rest. About $25,000 are paid out for labor every year.

Mr. Herfort has always been an interested and public spirited citizen of Baraboo. He was one of the charter members of the Baraboo Fire Department and was connected with its operation and maintenance for twenty-eight years. He is a republican and a member of the Knights of Pythias. In 1885 he married Miss Frederica Wilde, who was born in Germany in May, 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Herfort have had three children : Edna died in 1904 at the age of seventeen; Randall H., born July 11, 1895, is a graduate of the Baraboo High School and the Baraboo Business College, and is now a corporal in Company I, Sixth "Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted in July, 1917; and Lawrence Howard, born June 8, 1903, is a student in the public schools.

William Wichern is one of the substantial element of agriculturists and stock husbandmen in Sauk County and has his fine farm in Baraboo Township, in which locality he has practically spent all his life.

He was born in that township August 3, 1869, and is a son of Henry and Charlotte (Frick) Wichern. His father was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1827, and his inother was born in West Prussia in 1841. About 1862 they came to Sauk County and located in Baraboo Township. Henry Wichern worked as a renter for several years and during that time cleared up a large amount of land. He finally bought eighty acres near where his son William now lives, and that farm constituted his home and the scene of his active efforts for about thirty years. He died in 1897. He was a republican and a member of the German Methodist Episcopal Church in Baraboo Township. He was one of the regular attendants and supporters of that church when its pastor was John A. Salzer. Henry Wichern was married in Germany when a young man, and by this first marriage had three children : Meta, deceased ; Matthew, in California; and Maggie, living at Osage, Iowa. His second wife was a widow when he married her. She had one child by her first marriage, Charles Spaver, now in the drug business at Racine, Wisconsin. Henry Wichern and wife by their marriage had two children, William and Albert.

an early age and has always applied his efforts chiefly to farming. He is now the owner of 160 acres. The improvements mark it out as one of the notable homesteads in Baraboo Township, and most of the value has been put into the land by his own enterprise." Mr. Wiehern has lived there since June, 1897. His place is known as the Cherry Eed Ranch. He has had considerable success in the breeding of pure bred Red Polled cattle, high-grade Percheron horses and Rhode Island Red poultry. Besides his interests as a farmer Mr. Wiehern is a stockholder in the Excelsior Co-operative Creamery Company of Baraboo. In politics he is a republican aiid has served as clerk of the school board seven years. He was married in June, 1897, to Miss Martha Camp, who was born in Sauk County in 1872 and graduated from the Baraboo High School in 1891. She represents a pioneer family here. Her father was the late James Camp, who enlisted from Sauk County and made a most creditable record as a soldier with the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. It is estimated that during his campaigning he marched a total distance of 10,000 miles. Mr. and Mrs. Wiehern are the parents of four children, Ernest and Bernice, Gerald and Doris. Ernest and Bernice are twins and were born June 14, 1898. Both graduated from the Baraboo High School with the class of 1916 and Bernice is now a student in the Platteville Normal School. Ernest is attending an electrical school in Detroit, Michigan. Gerald was born May 1, 1901, and is in the second year of the high school at Baraboo. Doris, also a school girl, was born May 14, 1906. The family attend the Presbyterian Church.

William H. Payne has spent practically all the years of an effective and useful lifetime in Sauk County. All other activities have been only incidental to his main vocation as a successful farmer. His home, where he has lived since his marriage, is in Sumpter Township and it constitutes a farm of modern improvements and under a highly efficient system of management.

Mr. Payne was born in 1847 and is a son of Charles and Orpha (Squires) Payne. His father was born in New York State and his mother in Vermont. They were married in New York December 25, 1846, and in the spring of the following year arrived in Wisconsin, first locating in Roxbury, but after a year moving to Sauk County and locating in what was then Kingston, now Sumpter Township. From about 1848 until 1871 he lived on and owned the Ed Payne farm at Stones Pocket. He then moved to a new farm which he had bought at the locality known as Payne's Corners, and in that locality he was busily engaged with his farming and other affairs until 1898. In that year he moved to Prairie du Sac, and lived retired until his death on June 22, 1907. He was born July 16, 1824, in the town of Massena, St. Lawrence County, New York, and was nearly eighty-three years old when he died. His wife died August 28, 1900, and he afterwards married Mrs. Julia Durkee, of Prairie du Sac, who died in July, 1913. While living at Stones Pocket Charles Payne helped build the first log schoolhouse in that section. In the early days he did his farming and clearing with the aid of oxen and had a reputation as a most efficient man in swinging the cradle at harvest time. He was able to cut five acres a day. In using oxen for breaking up the laud it was customary to drive as many as ten yoke and the plow was what was known as the ' ' bull plow, ' ' and would cut a furrow three feet wide. Charles Payne was a very progressive man and he owned the first horse rake in the township. Before he got his land under cultivation he employed his services as a teamster and would haul produce to Milwaukee with his oxen and bring back provisions and other supplies for local merchants. Later he spent all his time and energies on his farm. For many years, until the construction of railways through the locality and the establishment of mills, he hauled his grain and produce to Madison, Portage, Baraboo and other convenient railway points.

William H. Payne was one of a family of four children. His brother J. C. Payne lives in Baraboo. Another brother is Isaac Payne. His only sister, Elizabeth, is the widow of Oran McGilvra, who died in 1912 in Sumpter Township.

William H. Payne attended the local schools in Sumpter Township, and his early environment was that of the typical Wisconsin farm boy. In June, 1877, he married Persis Dennett, a daughter of John and Martha (Morrill) Dennett. For forty years Mr. and Mrs. Payne lived together, sharing their joys and troubles and their increasing prosperity, and it was a heavy loss and affliction when she was taken away on February 3, 1917. She was the mother of two children. George was born in 1880 and died in 1882. The daughter, Martha Orpha, was born in 1883 and is the wife of Mr. John Meisser, a son of John M. Meisser and wife, who were formerly residents of Prairie du Sac, but for the past four years have lived in Montana. Mr. and Mrs. John Meisser live with her father and Mr. Meisser, besides operating his own farm of eighty acres, has the management of the Payne farm of 120 acres. He is a very competent agl-iculturist and is making these farms pay handsomely. Mr. and Mrs. Meisser have one child, Sybil, born in 1907. She is the only grandchild of Mr. Payne.

Mr. Payne in politics is a republican. Besides his work as a farmer he has found time to make himself a useful factor in the community and has never neglected the poor and the distressed, the call to neighborly duty and the co-operation with all good things.

Michael Hanley was one of those sturdy pioneers who helped to clear up and develop the wood lands of Sauk County. He lived a very active and energetic life, was a man of usefulness to himself, his family and his community, and his name is one that deserves to be enrolled permanently among the pioneers of this section.

He was bom in Ireland August 27, 1834. He was early left an orphan and he was reared largely in the home of his bachelor cousin, Michael Hanley. This cousin early came across the waters and located in Providence, Rhode Island, and young Michael joined him there when fourteen years of age. Through the influence of his cousin he was able to attend public schools in Connecticut and he also learned farming in that state. At Providence he learned the machinist trade, serving a three years' apprenticeship. In 1856 his brother, John Hanley, had come west to

Sauk County. With James Norton as a partner he took up a tract of Government land here. James Norton was subsequently lost during a hard winter in Sauk County and was frozen to death before he could reach a settlement. John-Hanley retained the land which he and his partner had taken up.

In December, 1860, Mr. Hanley came to Sauk County and in the spring of 1861 bought eighty acres of land from C. J. Lamb. He and his cousin Michael cleared up this tract, and subsequently the bachelor cousin bought the 149 acres where Mrs. Michael Hanley now lives. The bachelor cousin subsequently gave Michael the farm. This cousin died in Minnesota.

Michael Hanley cleared up and improved a good farm in Sauk County and he erected a fine barn, which was struck by lightning and destroyed. He also improved a good home, and was a man of substantial prosperity before his death, which occurred October 9, 1903. He was independent in politics, was assessor of his township and lent his influence steadily to the improvement of roads and other facilities.

He first married in Providence, Rhode Island, Mary Kelley, and by that union there was six children. In 1876 he married Bridget Dockery. Mrs. Hanley was bom at Providence, Rhode Island, March 24, 1847, a daughter of James and Catherine (Leicey) Dockery. Her parents came from Ireland to New York and later settled in Providence, where her father worked at his trade as a mason. In the course of time he acquired two farms and gave his later years to their improvement. James and Catherine Dockery were married in 1843, and both of them died on the same day, December 3, 1865.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hanley located on their farm in Freedom Township, and Mrs. Hanley has lived there for over forty years. The family are members of the Catholic Church at Baraboo.

Mrs. Hanley is the mother of eight children. Frank is a farmer and a bee man in Freedom Township. Mark has spent the last eleven years in Canada. Walter died at the age of eight years and James Augustine died at the age of eighteen months. Mary is a trained nurse now living in Milwaukee. Peter Clarence is a prospector and spends his time in British Columbia. Albert is deceased. Edna is the wife of Robert Stewart, having formerly been a teacher in Sauk County.

John Hanley, a brother of the late Michael Hanley, and previously referred to, came to Sauk County in 1856 and bought a farm of 134 acres in Freedom Township. He cleared up the land and lived there successfully and honorably until his death in 1905, at the age of seventy-six. He married Rose Bennett, of Providence, Rhode Island, and she is now living in Rusk County, Wisconsin. John Hanley was a republican and was chairman of his township board and for some years served as assessor and justice of the peace. He was an active member of the Catholic Church. He and his wife had ten children, four of whom are still living : James, in North Dakota ; Mrs. 0. B. Gray, also in North Dakota ; Edward, in Minnesota; and Mrs. Julia Hasson, of Rusk County, Wisconsin.

in one of the log houses which were typeial of the time and which indicated the fact of their pioneer ventures in this section of Wisconsin. This is an old and honored family name, and much has been done that can be traced directly to the worthy efforts of the Goedeckes. Charles Henry Goedecke has long been an active merchant at Ableman, and while his business affairs have prospered he has also found opportunity to serve his community in public positions.

His parents were John Henry Louis and Julia Henrietta Anna (Morsbach) Goedecke. His father was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1834 and his mother was born in Germany in 1836. The latter came to Milwaukee in 1847 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Morsbach. John H. L. Goedecke located in Milwaukee in 1852, and he married his wife there. For several years they lived in Waupun and Cross Plains, and then went as pioneers into Troy Township in Sauk County and secured a tract of Government land. For three years the father clerked at Sauk City for Charles Nebel and in 1865 he removed to Spring Green and engaged m business there with his brother-in-law, Jacob Witzel. That firm continued at Spring Green five years. In 1869 Mr. Witzel sold his share in the store to Adam Fey. In 1871 the firm of Fey & Goedecke established a store at Ableman, and built up and conducted for years the leading general merchandise establishment of that community. After the senior partners reached an age where they did not desire to continue active in responsibilities they turned matters over to their sons, and the business is still conducted under the name Fey & Goedecke Company.

John Henry Louis Goedecke was a democrat in politics. For fifteen years he held the office of postmaster at Ableman. He and his good wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on October 26, 1906, and that was an occasion of great rejoicing for them and their children and many friends. The father died December 13, 1915, nearly ten years later, while his wife passed away April 28, 1910. They were the parents of three sons and one daughter : Charles Henry ; Louis, of Knapp, Wisconsin ; Hugo, of Kilbourn, Wisconsin ; and Ella, wife of Victor Ralofsky, a resident of Joplin, Missouri, and owner of some zinc and lead mines at Miami, Oklahoma.

Charles Henry Goedecke was reared in several different communities, including Sauk City and Spring Green. He attended public school at the latter place and also at Ableman. His first teacher was James Lott, and he also attended school under Mrs. N. M. Bliss of Baraboo. He gave up his studies and faced the practical world at the age of thirteen and did not attend school again until he was twenty-four, when for a brief four months he was a student at Winona, Wisconsin, and at the same time was employed in the store of Kingsbury & Holland in that town. In the meantime he had worked in a stave mill at Ableman and also had some arduous experience in the lumber woods.

In 1885 Mr. Goedecke returned to Ableman and became a member of the firm with his father. After two and a half years he sought a larger field for his business and going to Chicago sjained a metropolitan experience as clerk in different grocery stores. He lived there for a number

Mr. Goedecke is a republican in politics. While his father was postmaster at Ableman he served as assistant for about two years. For four years he was village treasurer, and has shown himself ever ready and willing to aid in any enterprise for the betterment of the community. He is an active member of the Commercial Club and belongs to the German Singers' Society.

Mr. Goedecke was married in 1893, at Chicago, to Miss Helen Reichow, who was born in Germany in 1873, a daughter of Albert Reichow, now a resident of Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Goedecke have had a happy and ideal home life, and in the course of years nine children have blessed their union. All these children are still living, mentioned brietly as follows : Walter, bom May 28, 1894, is now a second lieutenant and is at Camp Green, North Carolina, expecting soon a call to France ; Raymond, born March 13, 1896; Irving, born August 16, 1899; Harold, born January 8, 1902 ; Hazel, born February 5, 1904 ; Roy, born July 18, 1905 ; Louis, born October 26, 1906; Victor, born March 28, 1909 ;' and Hubert, born January 19, 1910.

Benjamin G. Paddock (deceased), and Herbert E. Paddock, his son, have long been identified with the business, industrial, financial and public activities of Lavalle and the county. AVhen the father came to Wisconsin from New York in 1858 he settled at Ironton Village, then quite a. manufacturing town. There he engaged in business, served as postmaster of the village, town clerk and justice of the peace and, in 1871, when he commenced his term as sheriff, moved to Baraboo. At the end of his term he returned to Ironton, in 1873 opened a store a Ijavalle, and in 1876 fixed his residence there. At that point he also engaged in the manufacture of barrel staves, served as postmaster, in 1888 was elected to the Legislature, and died at Lavalle in March, 1900. Herbert E. succeeded to his father's interests and in 1902 organized the State Bank of Lavalle, of which he has since been president.

Edward V. Alexander, long and prominently known in Baraboo, represents an old family name of that city, and his wife's people were also influential in the early days of Sauk County.

Mr. Alexander was born in the City of Baraboo, in a house where the railway depot now stands. His birth occurred December 5, 3852. His parents were Dr. Josephus and Mary (Hazen) Alexander. Dr. Josephus Alexander was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in 1820. His wife was born in New York State in 1826, but when a girl her parents removed to Waterloo in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Dr. Josephus Alexander came to Sauk County when a young man, and was married in 1850. He took up his residence in Baraboo and was in active proetice as a physician until 1S55. His partner in practice was Doctor Arnold. Dr. Josephus Alexander died in 1857, when his son Edward was only five years of age. His widow survived him many years and passed away in 1908. They had just two children, and the daughter, Mary, died in infancy.

Edward V. Alexander was educated at Baraboo principally, both at the public and private schools. He was in the private school conducted by Professor Kimball, Mr. Alexander's chief business activity is looking after his farming interests, and he owns twenty acres in the corporation limits, formerly the property of his father. Plis father had taken up forty acres of Government land adjoining Baraboo, and it is a portion of this estate which Edward V. Alexander still occupies. In politics he is a republican and has been quite active in local affairs. He served as supervisor of Baraboo for several years, an office he still holds, and for the past three years has been chairman of the committee on county buildings. He is member of the Unitarian Church.

In 1903 Mr. Alexander married Miss Eva J. Slye. She was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, March 15, 1852, a daughter of Dr. L. Calvin and Abigail Annette (Church) Slye. The late Doctor Slye, whose name is so familiar to many of the older generation in Sauk County, was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont, July 15, 1815. He studied medicine, and when a young man located for practice at Waukesha, Wisconsin. While there he practiced as an allopath. At Waukesha he met Miss Church, who was born in Newport, New Hampshire, December 5, 1818, and was on a visit to W^aukesha at the time. They soon afterwards returned to Jefferson County, New York, and were married at Henderson in that county May 27, 1847. Doctor Slye continued practice at Waukesha, but in 1857 removed to Baraboo, where he became a homeopathic physician. He was very successful and skillful in his work and continued his professional work for many years. His death occurred February 2, 1898, and his wife passed away April 13th of the same year. Doctor Slye was noted as a student, both in his profession and in general literature. He was a follower of the Swedenborgian faith and in politics was a republican. Many years ago he built the home at 226 Sixth Avenue in Baraboo, which is now owned by Mrs. Alexander. Doctor Slj'C and wife had two daughters-: Eva Jane, Mrs. Alexander; and May Bell, who was born April 30, 1859, and died September 3, 1862.

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are very active members of the Sauk County Historical Society. Mr. Alexander is one of the curators of the society, and his wife is the treasurer. Mrs. Alexander was liberally educated. She attended the public schools of Baraboo and also the fine private school taught by Miss Lucy and Miss Laura Lawrence. The school occupied a building where the Episcopal Church now stands. Mrs. Alexander prior to her marriage taught in Lyons and at Ableman, and while living in Ableman she boarded at the home of Colonel Ableman, the founder of that town.

Wilbur D. Johnson. Now living retired at Baraboo, Wilbur D. Johnson has played a very active role in business affairs in Sauk County. His people were in Wisconsin while it was still a territory, and various members of the family have done their part in redeeming Sauk County from the wilderness.

from there came to Sauk County. He is a son of William B. M. and Phebe Ann (Eaton) Johnson. His father was born in Shelby County, Indiana, January 27, 1819, while the mother was bom in Ohio in 1827. In 1841 William B. M. Johnson came to Wisconsin and located in Lafayette County, where he lived until after his marriage. Miss Eaton arrived in the same county in 1845 with her parents, who spent the rest of their lives in that section. In October, 1853, William B. M. Johnson and wife removed to Sumpter Township of Sauk County and bought a farm of eighty acres at King's Corners. They lived there and prospered for a number of years but subsequently moved out to Iowa, where the father died in 1893. His widow subsequently went to live with her daughter. Mrs. Flora Riley, in North Dakota, and died there in 1908. They had a very large family of children : Byron, deceased ; Charles, deceased ; Louisa, deceased ; Wilbur D. ; Lyman ; Clarina, deceased ; Joshua ; Walter, deceased ; Crete ; Ransom, deceased ; Joseph ; and Flora.

Wilbur D. Johnson was reared on a farm in Sauk county. He attended public schools until fifteen years of age and he early learned the lessons of industry and that the most substantial successes of life come to determined energy and a logical purpose. He took up farming for himself and for a short time he lived in Iowa. Returning to Sauk county, he resumed farming in Sumpter township and was one of the substantial agriculturists of that section for two years, and then moved to Excelsior township, where he farmed for sixteen . years. In 1899 Mr. Johnson moved into Reedsburg and for ten years was local representative of the Standard Oil Company. He then established a farmers' hitch barn in Reedsburg, and in 1915 he sold that business and established a similar one in Baraboo, M^hich he conducted for a year and a half before selling out. Mr. Johnson then established the Johnson Storage Garage at the corner of Oak and Fifth streets, and he still owns the establishment, though it is leased and under operation by another man. Mr. Johnson was one of the organizers of the Excelsior Cheese Factory and was treasurer and sales manager for a number of years. He also helped organize the canning factory at Reedsburg. Thus his enterprise has been helpful in giving Sauk county some of its substantial business enterprises.

Mr. Johnson is a republican and has been very active in party politics, serving as delegate to county conventions for about eighteen years, though he never asked for any office for himself. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and both his parents were of the same denomination. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America.

A stimulus to his business energy through many years was his wife and children, and now that his children are grown and most of them established in homes of their own he well merits the leisure and comfort of retired life. He was married August 20, 1873, to Miss Ella M. Stone. Mrs. Johnson was born in Waterford, Maine, February 12, 1854, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Tredwell) Stone, of an old and prominent family of Sauk county. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Lillian L. is the wife of George E. Buss, a Sauk county farmer, and they have four children; Myrle, wife of John Schultis of Reedshnrg; Leon, Iva and Edna. Ethel S., the second daughter, is the wife of Frank W. Buss, and they live at Lavalle in Sauk Count.y, the parents of three children, named Velma E., Clinton and Ivan. William Spencer lives at Reedshurg and by his marriage to Mary E. Rose has two children, Lyle and Feme. Leonora C. is the wife of Frank E. Brimmer, of Lavalle, Sauk County, and they have a large household of seven children, named Percy, Lois, Wesle.y, Spencer, Lester, Royee and Lucy. Jessie S. is the wife of Will B. Meyer, a weaver in the woolen mill at Reedsburg, and their one child is named Mideliiie. M. Blanche, the youngest of the children, is the wife of Harvey N. Hill, of Cameron, Wisconsin, and the mother of one child, Helen.

William Fred Petzke is a native son of Sauk country who is manifesting the commendable virtues of his ancestry as a farmer and sturdy and thrifty citizen, and is going ahead in the world as an agriculturist in Freedom township.

Mr. Petzke was born in Honey Creek, Sauk County, June 28, 1878, a son of Frederick and Kate (Roser) Petzke. His parents were both natives of Germany. His father was brought to Sauk county when a boy and he began life with limited circumstances in the way of finance or influence. He finally was able to buy a farm in Honey Creek, and he lived there with his family about twenty-one years. On selling that he went to North Freedom and bought the farm now occupied by his son William F. Ten years ago he sold that to the mining company, and has since lived retired at North Freedom. In politics he is a republican and while living in Honey Creek was a member of the school board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their children, seven in number, all living, are Tena Bertha, William, Ida, Minnie, Kate and Clara.

William Fred Petzke spent his early youth partly on the homestead in Honey Creek township, where he attended the public schools, and since early manhood has been identified with agriculture as his vocation. For the past eight years he has rented the farm formerly owned by his father from the Mining Company, and as a renter is making a success equally as great as many individual farm owners. Mr. Petzke is a very successful breeder of Percheron horses and high grade Shorthorn cattle. Politically he is a republican.

Li 1907 he married Miss Ida Thom. She was born in North Freedoin, daughter of William and Amelia Thom. Mr. and Mrs. Petzke have three sons : Frederick, Theodore and William.

Louis Klein is a native of Sauk County and has spent his lifetime here as a capable and successful farmer and one of the men of influence in Freedom Township. His fellow men have many times reposed their confidence in his judgment as a public official and he has a long record of service as township supervisor.

both natives of Germany. His father came to the United States when a young man. He had learned the trade of foundryman in the old country and the first two years in America he worked in a foundry in Pennsylva^iia. From there he came west to the comparative wilderness of Sauk County and bought ninety-one acres near the present home of his son Louis. While he was not accustomed to farming, he was a good worker and he faced the future without fear. He began clearing up his land, and aftei^ a time he bought another quarter section. All of this gradually assumed the condition of a well improved farm, and he put up a number of substantial buildings. After coming to Sauk County Carl Klein married, and his first wifq died in 1875, leaving three children: Louis, Charles and Augusta. Later the father married Lena Trinne, and of that marriage seven children are living, three having died in infancy. Carl Klein is a republican and for a number of years served on the school board. He is now living retired in North Freedom at the age of about seventy-six. He began his career in Sauk County in a log cabin home, and he long ago acquired a financial independence which enables him to spend his declining years with every comfort.

Louis Klein grew up on the homestead farm and as a boy he attended the Maple Hill district school. Some time after reaching his majority he bought the old homestead of ninety-one acres and subsequently was in a position to acquire the ownership of the 160 acres which represented his father 's second purchase. He farmed the entire place for three years and then sold the original farm of ninety-one acres, still retaining the quarter section. Mr. Klein has made something of a local reputation by raising and handling high grade Shorthorn cattle. Even to the casual observer the farm impresses one as one of the best in Freedom Township, Its fields are well kept and tilled, abundantly productive, and the buildings include a large barn and one of the modern residences of that township. Politically Mr. Klein is a republican. He has filled the office of township supervisor for about twelve years and has also been a member of the school board, an office he still fills. The welfare of the schools has always been a matter close to his heart.

In January, 1892, Mr. Klein married Miss Annie Schultie, who was born in Sauk County in 1870, a daughter of William and Catherine (Behn) Schultie. Her parents came to this county at an early day and settled in Westfield Township, where her mother died in January, 1917. - Her father now lives on the farm with his son Carl, its owner. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have three children : Walter, Alvena and Lawrence.

William Hasheider. Many lives have entered into the foundation of Sauk County, and none of them more worthy to be considered in a history of pioneer personalities than the late William Hasheider. Those who have come and enjoyed the splendid prosperity of the later era have all owed a great debt to the pioneers who first tested the capabilities of soil and climate, who faced the hardships of existence when only the strong and brave could remain, and who laid the foundations of a greater civilization and permanent prosperity.

Germany in 1817. When a young man he immigrated to America with his parents and they all settled in Missouri, where his father died. The family went to Missouri in ^840, but after six years William Hasheider, his widowed mother and a sister came to Sauk County. They arrived in the spring of 1846, and joined the handful of settlers who were then living in Tro}- Township. This was two years before Wisconsin was admitted to the Union, and all of Sauk County was a virtual wilderness. William Hasheider began with eighty acres of land secured from the Government, and later he bought eighty acres from that old pioneer, Henry Steuber. All of this was wild and uncultivated and he was confronted with the tremendous task of clearing away the woods, grubbing out the stumps and gradually, acre by acre, getting the land ready for cultivation. When he came to Sauk County he possessed nothing except the elemental vigor of his bod.3^ and mind and he had little to do with except his bare hands. Later he bought a yoke of oxen, and used them in performing the heavy labor of the farm.

After getting established William Hasheider married Charlotte Lapabel, who was also born in Germany, the year of her birth being 1813. They became the parents of three children : August, who died in 1892; Mary, Mrs. Jacob Hatz, living at Prairie du Sac; and Adelia.

The parents continued to live on the old homestead which had undergone many improvements through their management and work until 1880, when they removed to Sauk City. From there they moved to Prairie du Sac, and there William Hasheider passed away in 1899, at the age of eighty-two, while his wife died in 1898. Both were active and zealous members of the Evangelical Church.

Miss Adelia Hasheider, daughter of the late William Hasheider, was born in the Township of Troy in 1857 and has spent most of her life in Sauk County and has been a witness of its changing growth and development for many years. She made her home with her parents until they passed away and since then has spent most of her time at Naperville, Illinois.

Charles E. Ryan. At the time of his death in March, 3915, Charles E. Ryan of Baraboo was said to have been the oldest jeweler in Wisconsin. He was in his eighty-eighth year. Mr. Ryan came to Portage in 1854 and to Baraboo in 1855, when he established his jewelry business. He was a New Hampshire man and in 1852 married a New Hampshire woman. His widow is still living. Of their four children three were daughters, and their only son died in infancy; so that although Mrs. Ryan succeeded to the business it is not actively conducted by any member of the family. A. Ch. Reisz conducts the store.

Charles L. Brewster. The enterprising and progressive City of Baraboo is fortunate in the character of the citizens who make up its quota of officials, for it is a well-established fact that a community is measured in large degree by the worth and integrity of the men who govern its affairs. One of the most important offices of the civic administration is that which has to do with the handling of the city's finances, and in choosing Charles L. Brewster for the office of city treasurer, in 1916, the citizens of Baraboo displayed remarkably good judgment and assured the city of honorable and honest representation in regard to its monetary affairs.