Winnebago County, Wisconsin - Chapter 33, 1880

- Harrison Reed Commences Operations at Neenah - Governor Doty and Curtis Reed Commence Work at Menasha - The First House Built at that Place - L. M. Parsons Commences the Settlement at Waukau - First Settlers in the Several Towns of the County.

HE next settlers in the county were Chester F'ord and his son Milan, who arrived in the fall of 1837. Mr. Ford soon assumed prominence in public affairs, and was a leading member of the Board of Supervisors, and one of the chief business men of Oshkosh. His son, Milan, has risen to the dignity of an "Hon.," and is now ser\'ing his second term as a member of the Legislature.

The next settlers in this county were Jason Wilkins, who arrived in the fall of 1837, and took up a claim on the lake shore, north of Miller's point, and Ira Aiken., who settled on the lake shore, near the site of the asylum.

Josepii Jackson, after his marriage, returned to Green Bay. He mo\'ed to Oshksoh from that place ini839,and btiilt a log-house on the present site of Kahler's brewery. In i844he builtthe first frame house in Oshkosh; it occupied the present site of the Beckwith. In 1846, in connection with W^ W. Wright, he surveyed and platted a tract into village lots, now the west side of Main street. He contributed liberally toward the growth of the city; was elected the second ma\-or; re-elected, and has held man\' other offices of trust and honor.

Mr. C. J. Coon arrived in 1839, and purchased land from Robert Grignon. It is the site of the Sawyer and Paine property. He built his hotise near the site of the Paine mill. Mr. Coon was looked upon as a substantial addition to to the infant settlement, and was a man of much influence.

Joseph L. Schooley made a claim the same year in what is now the town of Oshkosh. He worked, at times, as a printer on the Green Bay IntcUii^ciiccr, the first newspaper printed in Wisconsin.

Stephen Brooks and family came in 1839, and took up land near the site of the asylum. Samuel Brooks came in 1842, and subsequently settled at what is now called Brooks' Corners. He was a surveyor, and run out the first roads which were opened in the coiintr\-,' and was the first County Surveyor.

William A. Boyd, son-in-law of Chester Ford, settled on what is now the Roe farm, about a mile from the city limits, in June, 1840. He brought withhim twenty-one sheep, the first ever brought into this count)'. He shipped them by water from Cleveland to Green Bay, and drove them from that place, on an Indian trail. He also brought in the first stock of leather, and manufactured the first boots and shoes ever made in this county, and was one of the first mail carriers. His route was semi-monthly, on an Indian trail, from Green Ba)- to Stanley's Ferry.

When Mr. Boyd was moving into the country he met, at Green Bay, Mr. Clark Dickenson, who was intimately acquainted with Mr. Boyd's friends, at the mouth of the Fox; and that gentleman kindly proffered to Mrs. Boyd the loan of his saddle horse as a means of conveyance, which offer was thankfully accepted; and, seated on the horse with an infant in her arms, she made the trip from the Bay to this place, Mr. Boyd on foot driving the sheep.

Doctor Christian Linde, now a resident of the city of Oshkosh, emigrated from Denmark to this country in 1842. He was accc^mpanied by his brother Carl, and, on the seventeenth of July they purchased from Col. Tuliartwo hundred and eighty acres of land, now occupied by the Northern Insane Asylum, on which they built a log house, very nearly where the Asylum now stands, into which they immediately moved. In 1843 the doctor married a daughter of Clark Dickinson.

In November, 1844, Carl Linde, under the necessity of obtaining flour, crossed the lake to the mill at Stockbridge (the only accessible mill then in operation) in a small boat with a grist. Arriving at the mill, he was unable to obtain his grist in time to return the same day, and as it was very cold, with every prospect of the lake freezing over, he left his boat, and, procuring a canoe, started for home. After leaving the Stockbridge shore, he was not seen again until his body was found by Colonel Tullar and some Indians, near Grand Chute, the following spring; but the day after his departure from Stockbridge, his canoe could be seen from that shore, and, sufficient ice having formed during the night to enable the neighbors to walk out to it, the}- found it had not been upset, but judged from appearances that he had endeavored to convert his blanket into a sail, and in the attempt had lost his balance, and fallen overboard. The sides of the canoe gave ample evidence that he had

Doctor Linde remaining on the farm until 1846, removed to Green Ba)', where he practiced his profession for about one year, during which time his son, Doctor F"red Linde, was born, March twenty-ninth, i 847, the only child of the first marriage.

In 1850, he moved to Fonddu Lac, practicing his profession for some two years. In 1853, tired of his profession, and longing for a "life in the woods," he, in partnership with Colonel L. M. Miller, Edward Eastman, Nelson Davis, and Caleb Hubbard, purchased a site and laid out a town at Mukwa, on Wolf River, where he built a comfortable frame house, and for six \ears dispensed a generous hospitality to his numerous friends, particularly to those who, like himself, derived great pleasure from the use of the rod and the gun. Here he was assisted by the embryo physician and surgeon Fred, (we never called him doctor in those days), who did the honor of the house in his father's absence, and acted as purveyor general.

Mr. Jefferson Eaton migrated to Wisconsin in 1843. Arriving at the Fond du Lac settlement, he left his family at that place, and took the trail for Oshkosh, where he duly arrived. In the fall he moved his family on to the tract of land, in the town of Oshkosh, where he has since resided - two hundred and twenty acres, one hundred of which he has since sold to the Northern Insane Asylum. He acted as one o( the commissioners in laying out the first roads in the county.

Mr. George H. Mansur and family settled at Neenah in 1843 - the first white family permanently settled at that place. For particulars, see "History of Neenah," in this work.

Harrison Reed, in 1844, purchased from the government the five hundred and sixty-two and fort\--four-one hundredths acres of land, which constituted the agencj- ground at Winnebago Rapids, with the buildings on the same, tools and implements, moved his family there that year, and commenced laying the foundations of the future city of Neenah. (See history of that city on subsequent pages.)

Governor Doty, in 1845, built his log house on the island, and took up his residence in the same. (jo\ernor Doty was a man who acted a very conspicuous part in the history of Wisconsin. In 1820, he was secretary fo the expedition of Governor Cass, and with him traveled through the great lakes, the Fo.x and Wisconsin, and ascended to the sources of the Mississippi in birch bark canoes. In I823 he was appointed United States District Judge for the northern district of Michigan, which included the northern part of the present State of Michigan, all of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. This year he was married, and moved, with his wife, to Prairie du Chien, traveling from Green Bay to that place in a birch bark canoe. The next year he moved to Green Bay. In 1836 he donated the land for the site of a State Capitol. In 1841 he was appointed Governor of the territory of Wisconsin, which position he held three years.

It seems that in all his travels, he found no place more attractive to him than the beautiful island at the foot of the lake, called after him, for he continued to reside there from 1845 till he was appointed, in 1861, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Utah. He died at Salt Lake City, in 1865. His cosy looking cottage on the island is in a good state of preservation, and one of the attractive features of John Roberts' Summer Resort, being a historical relic of the early times.

Curtis Reed, associated with Governor Dotjin the ownership ofthe water power at Menasha and of the adjoining land, went to that place in June, 1848, forthe purpose of improving the water power and starting the future city of Menasha. Hfe built a log house at the head of the canal which was used as a tavern and boarding house. At this time the site of the present city of Menasha was a wilderness, untouched by the hand of man. He next erected another log building which he occupied as a store, and then commenced the construction of the present dam. Before the close ofthe year some eight or ten families had settled in Menasha, so called by Mrs. Governor Doty.

L. M. Parsons, still a resident of the tow n of Rushford, made the first settlement in that town March 7th, 1846, erecting at that time a house ten by twelve, in which he afterwards accommodated the travelling public to the e.xtent of its capacitj'.

The same year J. R. and Uriah Hall, the Stones, Deyoes, John Johnson, J. Mallory and, the Palfreys settled in the vicinity. Mr. Parsons erected a saw-mill the same fall, and in 1850 completed a grist mill which was very popular in its day. The present fine mill of Bean & Palfrey, celebrated for the superiority of its flour, now occupies the site.

Mrs. Bel! was the first white woman in the town, and in the fall when the fe\'er and ague prevailed to such an extent that she was the onl\" well person in the settlement, she harrowed in a field of winter wheat. The same fall, having lived for some time on boiled wheat, she yoked the oxen, and loading a grist on the wagon started for Neenah, twelve miles distant, with no road but an Indian trail. Returning in the night with her grist she was entertained with the howling of the wolves, and arrived home about midnight.

About a month after the advent of the Bell's, Mr. (ireenbury Wright accompanied b)- Ur. A. B. Wright, now of this city, located on the present site of Buttes des Morts, and now enjoys the distinction of being the oldest resident famil\- in town.

In that year the settlement received accessions in the arrival of George Cross, J. Ashby, I,. McConifcr, Stephen Allen, William Caulkins, I'Mwin Boulden and George Snider.

Mr. George Cross was engaged at a very earl}- day in Western explorations, having visited Wisconsin in 1835, and was engaged in running the line of the Fourth Principal Meridian; he also accompanied Governor Doty in his explorations. (See history of Winneconne.)

Joseph II. Osborn and John Smith built houses on tiieir present farms in the now Town of Algoma in 1846. Mr. Osborn took a prominent [)art in the early affairs of the Count)', for which see history.

C. L. Rich migrated to this County in 1845. On reaching Ceresco, he took the Indian trail for Stanle)'sferr)-, and reaching his destination, was ferried across and put up at Stanley's tavern, which, with Amos Dodge's little store and a few log houses, comprised all of the beginning of the future City of Oshkosh. About t\\ I) hundred Indians were encamped on the river shore at the time. In that year he selected his present fine farm in the Town of Oshkosh. The country was almost an unsettled wilderness, there being only three or four log houses between his place and the Neenah settlement.

In February, 1846, Mr. Heath selected a claim in the now town of Utica, and built a log house on the same. On the first of April, of that year, he started from Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where he had been living, for his new home in Winnebago. He took with him four yoke of oxen, hitched to a wagon, loaded with household goods, farming tools feed and provisions; and also, drove a lot of live stock, composed of neat cattle, sheep and hogs. He was compelled to ford the streams, there being no bridges this side of Bea\er Dam, and in fact, no road cut for a long portion of the distance.

Arriving at his place on the tenth of April, he found himself monarch of all he surveyed; the nearest house being at Ceresco, the Fourierite settlement, eight miles distant. The next, were the settlers near the mouth of the Fox, Oshkosh. On the night of his arrival, a heavy snow storm set in, and snow fell to the depth of fourteen inches. In the morning, Mr. Heath set two men, who were with him, to work chinking and mudding up the house, and then started with an ox team and sled for Daikens, near Green Lake, twelve miles distant, to procure a load of hay. A heavy crust had formed that would hold a man, but the cattle broke through at every step, which made very painful and tedious traveling. He arrived at Daikens that night, got his load of hay, and reached home with it the next night. While he was gone the men had fed all the feed they had to the slock, and when Mr. Heath approached his place, all the stock came running to meet him, bellowing a welcome, and commenced to help themselves, eating as he moved it along. Leaving it over night on the sled where they could feed at their pleasure, he found it all gone in the morning. The snow disappeared as suddenly as it came, and the stock found abundant feed on the Rush Lake marshes, from that time on.

E. B. Fisk was the next settler in Utica, locating on the beautiful place now known as Fisk's Corners, where he dispensed a bountiful hospitality in the early day.

Armine Pickett and David H. Nash arrived in May, 1846, with their families, and settled on places which they had selected the previous fall.

George Ransom and family were also among the very earliest settlers in this town, having settled on the beautiful farm near Fisk's Corners, now occupied by one of his sons, E. B. Ransom, in the same month of Heath's and Pickett's settlement, viz: April, 1846.

Thefirstsettlement in the Townof Nepeuskun was made by Jonathan Foote and family, in March 1846. The Footes, after living in their wagon some w'eeks, finished a shanty, thirteen by sixteen feet, in which they entertained newcomers.

brother arrived and took up claims. On the dayof theirarrival.they took a plow from their wagon and turned the first furrow ever plowed tn the soil of Nepeuskun. Before the close of the year they received as accessions to the settlement A. B. and J. H. Foster, Samuel Clough, Jerome Betry, S. Van Kirk, J. Nash, D. Barnum.T. F. Lathrop, George Walbridge, W. C. Dickerson, L. B. Johnson, H. F. Grant, John Van Kirk, Solomo« Andrews, H, Stratton, and Alonzo J. Lewis.

The first settlement made in the Town of Vinland was in the spring of 1846, by N. P. Tuttle, followed immediately by Horace Clemans, who settled on Section twenty-five, now Clemansville, and Jeremiah Vosburg on Section fifteen. The same year came W. W. Libby, Charles Scott, W. Partridge, Silas M. Allen, Samuel Pratt, Jacob and Walter Weed, William Gumaer, and Thomas Knott, Jr. In 1849 came A. T. Cronkhite, L. Beemis, Chas. Libby, Henry Robinson, and others.

The first settlers in the Town of Clayton were D. C. Darrow and William Berry, who came in 1846. They were followed by Alexander Murray, John Axtell, William Robinson, Benjamin Strong. L. H. Brown, William M. Stewart, George W. Giddings, W, H. Scott, L. Hinman, J. F. Roblee,and others as early settlers.

Tlie Town of Omro was first organized under the name of Buttes des Morts; it had for its first permanent residents, Edward West, A. Quick and Hezekiah Gifford, who settled there in the spring of 1846. The town filled up so rapidly after this that it is difficult to determine the respective priorit}- in settlement of the next new comers.

At the town election held the following year, April sixth, 1847, Edward West, John Monroe and Frederick Tice were elected Supervisors; Nelson Olin, Clerk, John M. Perry, Treasurer, Barna Haskell Assessor, and Isaac Germain, Justice. Among the earliest settlers were John R. Paddleford, M. C. Bushnell and S. D. Paddleford.

The first settler within the limits of the Town of Nekimi was A. M. Howard, who located on Section two, in the summer of 1846. A large number followed so soon after that it is difficult, at this day, to fix their respective priority of settlement. Among the early settlers were Hiram B. Cook, who moved on his farm in 1847; Wm. Abrams and his brothers, in the same )-ear. John Joyce, John Ross, the

The first settlers in the Town of Algoma were Chester F"ord and his son-in-law, W. A. Boyd, and Milan Ford. J. H. Osborn next followed in the spring of 1846. During the same spring came J. Botsford, E. S. Durfee, John Smith, Noah and Clark Miles, Elisha Hall and Doctor James Whipple. By 1848 the land in this town was very generally taken up.

The first permanent resident of the Town of Black Wolf was Clark Dickenson, who built his house and moved into the same in 1841. He was soon followed by C. B. Luce, Ira Aikens, Wm. Armstrong, Charles Gay, T. Hicks, Henry Hicks, Frank Weyerhorst and others. Armstrong and Ga\- settled there in

The first settlement in the Town of Winchester was made by Jerome Hopkins in the winter of 1847-8, followed in the spring by Samuel Rogers and family, and James H. Jones. This town was organized in 1852.

The first settlers in the Town of Poygan were Jerry Caulkins, George Rowson and brother, Thomas Robbins, Thomas Mettam, Thomas Brogden', Henry Cole, Richard Barron, the Maxons and Reed Case. The first settler came in the spring of 1849, and most of the rest mentioned came during that year.

The first white settler within the limits of the Town of Wolf River was Andrew Merton, who settled on what has been known since as Merton's Landing, Wolf River, in the fall of 1849, and was immediately joined by Albert Neuschaefer and Herman Page.

Note. - For full clelails of the history of the several towns, cities, and villages of this county, see their respective histories in subsequent pages of this work.