Ironton, Wisconsin

was born at Paris Hill, Oneida Co., N. Y., February 12, 1805, and died at Ironton December 26, 1878. His parents were pioneers in that part of New York, in which he found much more hard work than opportunities for education. In the absence of ca,nals and railroads, the usual routine of his rural youth was mostly varied by trips with sleigh to Albany, 140 miles, with farm produce and return with merchandise. The fashion and economy of those early days are illustrated by his taking from home enough cooked provisions for the round trip of ten days to two weeks, in order to clear anything by such hauling. Experiences in trading on such trips caused him, when of age, to engage in peddling through most of the New England States, in which he acquired more of experience than capital. During several years following, he alternately formed, ran a saw-mill and essayed a wagon and blacksmith shop, employing several hands. Soon after being married, January 1, 1835, to Ruby Bliss, who survives him, he had the misfortune to have his shop, tools and stock consumed, which led him to give up all his remaining property to his creditors. With several long-time acquaintances, he then determined to abandon New York, and make a new start in Wisconsin, in which Territory he settled, near Salem, Kenosha County, in 1844. One drawback after another, including sickness, induced him to desire a new location, and, hearing of the Baraboo country, he, with several friends, made no less than seven prospecting and hunting tours between 1848 and 1852, during which, by means of cash and warrants, he entered several hundred acres of excellent land lying about one or two miles northwest and west of Ironton Village. On this land he settled in the spring of 1852. Much of this land he soon disposed of, but retained enough for a good farm until about ten years ago. This farm being situated in Lavalle (then Marston, including what now is Woodland, Lavalle, Ironton and Washington), he was soon chosen Chairman of its Board of Supervisors, and many times represented it in the old county board. In these early days he was also a noted Justice of the Peace, and thereby acquired the title of " Squire," which clung to him through life. After the death of James Tower, founder of Ironton, who was one of the members of the County Board, he was appointed and then elected to the position, which he retained about four years, and gained the respect and good will of his colleagues. Having a good offer for his farm, he disposed of it in the spring of 1868, and purchased a comfortable home in the village of Ironton, where he resided until his death. Throughout his Sauk County career, he was one of the landmarks of Republicanism, never wavering in its support, and contributing freely of his money, time and labor for its success. He was specially noted for the persistence with which he insisted that his town should always be represented in county convention, whose every session he has attended for a generation. The massiveness and shape of his head betokened, what he really possessed, much more than average mental endowments, which, had they in youth been fairly cultivated, would have raised him to much more important stations in life than he occupied. " While observation and keen analysis, with sound reasoning and considerate judgment, guided by justice, insured him a f\iir measure of social, official and financial success without wronging another, and placed him on the right side of most public questions, and caused his opinion to be respected and frequently consulted ; wealth and station, however, were but secondary with him, for he distributed the one and waived the other more than is generally known. He was for many years an Odd Fellow, but gradually communed more and more with the Free Masons, with whom he remained in good standing to his death. He also worked with the Good Templars for a number of years. In all these organizations, he was an active and influential member, and frequently held important official positions in each. In the pioneer days of the Little Baraboo, many were those who Avere freely welcome to his bed and board, and a seat about the old-style fireplace ; and often did the capacious old log house contain a merry company whose down-right old-fashioned sport and ready wit caused the walls to fairly ring again ; and often do his children refer to the endearments of the old farm home.

Passage source: The History of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Containing an Account of Settlement, Growth, Development and Resources ... Biographical Sketches ... the Whole Preceded by a History of Wisconsin, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Ironton Village.