Calamus Town

Calamus Town

THOJIAS H. COXXEliL, teacher, P. 0. Beaver Dam; is a son of Thomas and Margaret O.Connell, early settlers of Calamus ; Thomas was born in Springfield, Mass., Oct. 3, 18r)2, and, in 1855, his parents emigrated to Dodge Co., Wis., and settled in the city of Biaver Dam fur one year, then removed to the town of Calamus, which has since been his home ; he received his early education in the public schools, after which he attended the Wayland University of Beaver Dam for one year; in 18(59, he began teaching district school, which he has followed most of the time since; when 13 years of age he learned the brickmason's trade, which he followed during the summer vacations. He was elected Town Clerk of Calamus in the spring of 187!:l.

WILiliIAM CROFT, farmer. Sec. 9 ; P. O. Beaver Dam ; was born in Lincolnshire, Eng., in 1829, and is the son of George and Jane Croft ; his father died when he was about 12 years of age, but his mother, a woman of rare Christian virtues, is yet spared him; May 2, 1853, he sailed from Liverpool for America, anl landed at St. John, N. B., June 5 following; ho then went to Massachusetts, where he followed working on the railroad for a short time, and then worked at farm labor there for fourteen months ; in the fall of 1855, he came to the town of Westford, Dodge Co., Wis., where he built a lime-kiln on Beaver Dam Island, and from which he furnished the lime to build the Fox Lake Seminary ; he continued that business for two years and for the next two years was employed by the C, M. & St. P. K. 11. Co. to saw wood; in 1859, he bought a farm of forty acres in Seo. 15, Westford, which was his home till 1867 ; ho then sold that and bought this present one of ICO acres in Seo. 9, town of Calamus, whore he has since followed farming. March 14, 185G, lie married Miss Hannah, daughter of Thomas and Betsey Bonner, of Westford, but a native of Lincolnshire, Kng.; they have six children - George, of Dakota ; Stephen, Sarah J., Dina E., Mary A. and Ella. Mr. C. was a member of the Town Board one term, and several terms a member of the School Board ; they are members of the Wesleyan M. E. Church.

GEORCJE W. CURTIS, farmer, Sec. 35 ; P. 0. Beaver Dam ; he is the fifth son of William and Sarah Curtis; born in Steuben Co., N. Y., in 1819; he followed lumbering in that State till 1849, when he immigrated to Dodge Co., Wis., and settled on a farm of eighty acres in Sec. 35, town of Calamus, where he has since followed farming ; he now has 1(30 acres in Sec. 35, and ten and three-quarter acres in Sec. 25, Calamus. Sept. 29, 1847, he married iMiss Isabel F., daughter of Lsaac and Julia Swarthout, of Steuben Co., \. Y., wlio died at her home in Wisconsin Aug. 22, 1871, leaving one adopted daughter, Ella E. (Mrs. Henry S. Gilmore), of Calan^us. Mr. Curtis has been a member of the Town Board for two years, and was Town Treasurer for one year; politically, he is a Republican.

JOH^ "B. DEMAREST ; P. O. Beaver Dam; son of Juctin and Margaret Demarest ; born in Rockland Co., N. Y.. in May, 1831 ; when he was about 1 year old his parents removed to Bergen Co., N. J., which was his home, and where he followed forming till 22 years old ; he then went to New York City, and for two years followed the business of a drayman ; in the fall of 1854, he came to Dodge Co., Wis., stopped in the city of Boavor Dam for the winter, and in the following spring he bought a farm of 100 acres in Sees. 11 and 12, town of Calamus, which has since been his home. At Beaver Dam, Wis., in March, 1855, he married Mrs. Elizabeth, widow of John Haring, and daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Vanhouten, she being a sister-in-law to Mr. Mackie, the first white settler of Beaver Dam, and having three children at the time of her second marriage - Peter, now of Beaver Dam ; John, of .AlinneapLfiis, Minn. ; Isaac, of Escanaba, Mich.; they have one daughter - Margaret A., who married Mr. Henry Winebrenner, of Beaver Dam, in 1S72, and has two children - Jessie and Jennie. Mr. Demarest 's family is connected with the Presbyterian Church ; Mr. Winebrenner is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

WIIjIiIAM W. EVAXS, deceased ; was a native of Carnarvonshire, North Wales, and a son of filvan Evans; born in April, 1820; he followed the business of a State quarrier in that county till 1845, and then immigrated to Racine Co., Wis., where he followed laboring for one year. In 1846, he came to the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis. ; entered a farm of eighty acres in Sec. 23; sold that the year after, and bought another of eij;hty acres in Sec. 29, which was his home for a few months, when he sold that also and bought the present one of 130 acres in See. 31. This he carefully managed, and worked till his death, April 11, 1874. In 184.5, he married Miss Jane, daughter of Thomas and Mary Parry, of Carnarvonshire. North Wales. They had five children ^Evan W., deceased; Thomas W., of Columbus, Wis, William W., of Calamus; John W., Hugh W., and adopted Jane L.; they are members of the Welch M. E. Church.

E. ADAMS FOWLER, farmer. Sec. 19; P. 0. Fall lliver; is a son of Elisha and Edith (Griifith) Fowler, born in Windsor Co., Vt., in 1830, and is a descendant of the long line of Fowlers, beginning with Jonathan the giant, who killed a bear with a club, and whose hme was so widespread that George II, then Monarch of England, caused an oil painting to be made, on the margin of which were these words: "Jonathan Fowler, the giant, in the act of killing a bear with a club." B. A. spent his early life with his father, on a farm, near Skaneatcles, Onondago Co., N. Y., whither his parents removed, when he was quite young ; when about 20 years of age, he began the machinist's trade in a large cabinet manufactory, of iSkaneatelos, where he continued eighteen months ; then went to Windsor Co., Vt., and followed his trade for another eighteen months; here he met a man from Moline, 111., who was on his way East to purchase machinery for such a factory to be established there, and who induced Mr. Fowler to go to Illinois and put up the machinery for him ; reaching Moline, Dec 25, 1853, where he was employed for six months; then went to Milwaukee, and was brakeman on the M. & M. R. R., between Milwaukee and Madi.son, Wis., till 1855; he was next baggage-master on the Milwaukee & Watortown ; then conducter of a passenger train on the road between those points for six months. In 185(3, he returned to the factory at Moline for six months; thence again to Milwaukee, and was then employed to take charge of the machinery in a cabinet-ware manufactory, till ISliO. In the fall of 1860, he bought a farm of 103 acres in Sec. 19. township of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis., which has since been his home. In 1863, he was elected Chairman of the Town Board, was re-elected in 1864-66-67 ; was a member of the County Board of Equalization in the fall of 1863 ; in 1867, he was elected Justice of the Peace, re-elected in 1871, and at every election since ; in 1869, he was elected by a large majority a member of the State Assembly from the First District; politically, he is a stanch Republican. April 30, 1866, he married Mis-! Catherine, daughter of Archibald and Sarah McFadyne, of Milwaukee; she being a native of New York City; they have seven children - Charles E., Harry S., of Columbus, Adam E., Sarah L., Mary G., Archie B., Katie S. Mrs. F. is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

HENKY S. GILMORE, farmer. Sec. 26; P. 0. Beaver Dam; is the only son of David S. and LorenJ S. Gilmore; born in Racine Co., Wis., in 1848; when Q years of age, with parents, he removed to the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis., where his father bought a farm of eighty acres, in Sec. 26, which has since been his home; here the father died in July, 1873 ; he now has 120 acres in Sec. 26, Calamus, and twenty acres in Sec. 32, town of Lowell, Dodge Co. ; in the spring of 1874, he was elected a member of the Town Board ; was re-elected in 1875-76, and in 1877 was elected Chairman of the Board ; politically, he is a Democrat. In 1875, he married Miss Ella E. Sunderland, a native of Lincolnshire, England; born in June, 1856, and an adopted daughter of George W. and Isabel Curtis, of the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis. ; they have two children - Phebe A. and Dora E.

JAMES HALL, farmer, Sec. 12 ; P. 0. Beaver Dam; is a native of Oneida Co., N. Y. ; born in 180'J ; is the son of Sylvester and Martha Hall; in 1833, he removed to Miami Co., Ohio, and followed farming for seven years; then, in 1840, he returned to New York and settled in Jefferson Co., and continued farming till 1854, whence he immigrated to Dodge Co., Wis., bought a farm of forty acres in Sec. 12, town of Calamus, which has since been his home. In 1833, he married Miss Emma J., daughter of Joseph and Policy Birch, of Oneida Co., N. Y. ; they had two children - Adeline, now Mrs. Charles Doster, of Minneapolis, Minn.; J. Dwight, of Clayton Co., Iowa. Mrs. Hall died in April, 1853; in 1856, he married Mrs. Elizabeth, widow of Joseph N. Downing, and daughter of Russell and Elizibeth Thompson, pioneers of Dodge Co. in 1844 ; her husband having been frozen to death on the Fox River, in 1849, leaving her one daughter, Emma E., now the widow of the late Archibald Pringle, who was drowned in the Red River of Dakota, in March, 1877, leaving her with one son. Archibald D.* He was also a soldier in Co. C of the 16th W. V. I.; was wounded at Atlanta; mustered out in 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children by secind marriage - Lottie M. and Elzora D.

FREDERICK IHK., deceased; was a son of Frederick and Margaret Ihk, Germany; born May 6,1818; when 20 ye.irs of age, he began the brickmaker's trade, which he continued till 1846; he then came to America and settled on a farm in the town of Watertown, Jefferson Co., Wis.; six years after, he moved to the city of Watertown, which was his home for two years ; in 1854, he bought a farm of eighty acres in the town of Shields, Dodge Co., Wis., where he followed farming for ten years; and in 1864 he bought a farm of 2i6 acres in Sec. 7, but afterward sold off 106 acres, leaving the estate of

120 acres at his dciiih, Dec. IG, 1879. In Germany, in 1844, he married Miss Wilhclniena, daughter of John and M;iry Studamann, whom he left a widow with seven children,' as follows : Charles, now of Columbus; William, Augusta, Matilda; Mrs. Kicko, of Watertown, Wis.; Annie, Mrs. Conrad Grade, of Chicairo : Kliza, Frank and Max. They are members of the Lutheran Church of Columbus.

JliCllAEL KRALS, farmer, Sees. 11 and 12 ; P. 0. Beaver Dam ; was born iu Germany in 1813 ; he came to America in 1S45 and stopped for nine years in Chicago ; in the summer of 1855, he came to Dodge Co., Wis., bouglit a farm of eighty acres in Sees. 11 and 12, and has since made it his home. At Chicago in 1 847, he married Miss Josephine, daughter of Peter and Magdaline Peters ; they have seven children - Annie ("now Mrs. George Aijian, of Westfordj, John (of Calamus), Josephine (now Mrs. John Rosenmeier, of Westfurd), Barbara (now Mrs. George E. Gergeu. of Beaver Dam), Francis, Joseph and Supliia. They are members (if the Catholic Church.

JOHN C. LONG, farmer. Sec. 28 ; P.O.Columbus; was born in Germany in 180G; is the son of Joseph L)ng; in the spring of 1854, he came to America and settled on a farm in Columbus, Columbia Co., Wis., where he lived until 1868, when he bought a iarm of 80 acres in Sec. 28, town of Calamus, where he has since lived. In 1829, he married Miss Margaret Kitzerow, of Germany; they had five children - Louisa, Annie, Sophia, John and Fred; Mrs. Long died Aug. 7, 1861. In 1868, he married Mrs. Sophia, widow of Fred Nevermann, of Columbus, she having, at the time of her second marriage, three children - Henry, Fred and Annie; since second marriage, they have four children - Charles, Louis. Ida and Lizzie. They are members of the Lutheran Church.

JOISEPH PETERS, farmer. Sec. 1; P. 0. Beaver Dam ; was born in Bavaria in 1843, and is the son of Peter and Magdalena Peters ; in 1846, he came with his parents to America, and settled in Chicago, which was his home till 1855, whence they removed to the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis., which has since been his home; in 1861, he bought a farm of 80 acres in southwest quarter of Sec. 1, to which he removed ten years after. In 1874, he was elected Town Treasurer of Calamus; was re elected in 1877, 1878 and 1879. He was one of the originators of the Mutual Insurance Co. of Calamus in 1872 ; was a Director and agent of the Company for three or four years. Politically, Mr. Peters is a Democrat. In 1871, he married Miss Catharine, daughter of John and Theresa Rosenmeier, of the town of Beaver Dam, she being a native of Germany. They are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church; Mr. Peters has also been Secretary of the Church for tw.i years, and was re-elected, Jan. 5, 1880, for the third term.

ROBERT W. ROBERTS (deceased), was the .son of Robert Rogers, of Denbighshire, North Wales; born in May, 1816; his mother dying when he was quite young, he was raised by his grandfather ; in the summer of 1849, he came to America, and settled on a farm of SO acres, in Sec. 30, town of Calamus, which, by his own industry and toil, he improved and increased to 133 acres, in same Section. Dec. 25, 1849, he married Miss Mary, daughter of Daniel and Ann Roberts, of the town of Elba, Dodge Co., Wis., she being a native of Carnarvonshire, North Wales, but an emigrant to Dodge Co. iu 1845 ; Mr. Roberts died Feb. 26, 1875. leaving a widow, with three children, as follows - Robert M.; Ann, now Mrs. Edward P. Roberts, of Westford ; and AVilliam D. They are members of the Welsh M. E. Church.

ALEXANDER I>. ROSS, farmer. Sec. 14 ; P. 0. Beaver Dam ; the subject of this sketch is the thini son of David and Helen Rose, nw Monroe, born in Rosskeen, Rosshire, Scotland, June 29, 1814; he was educated in the public school of his native county, and spent most of his early life with his parents on the farm ; iu the summer of 1840, he took passage at Assint, Scotland, on board the ship DevroQ, on her voyage from Glasgow to the British Provinces, and landed at Pictou, Nova Scotia, June 19, stopping at Pictou for four years, where he was engaged iu various kinds of business; in 1844, he went to Providence, R. I.; thence direct to Boston, Mass., where for twelve years he was engaged in shipbuilding most of the time ; he spent the winters of 1848-49-50 in Mobile and New Orleans, working at his trade; May 22, 1855, he came to Dodge Co., Wis., and bought a farm of 200 acres in Sec. 14, town of Calamus, which, by his own honest toil and industry, he has changed into a commodious home. At Boston in 1855, he married Miss Christina, daughter of George and Elizabeth McKay, of Nova Sc itia ; they liave had eight children - Helen (deceased), Mary Ellen (deceased), David W., Eliza M., George A., Clara J., Anna C. and Ada B. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Beaver Dam.

LOUIS Rl'SHIiOW, farmer. Sees. 12 and 13; P. 0. Beaver Dam; is a son of John B. Rushlow and Josepliinu Martell, natives of the district of Three Rivers, Lower Canada, but immigrants to Clinton Co., N. Y., in 1814, where Louis was born in 1827 ; in 1832, he with his parents removed to the town of Swanton, Franklin Co., Vt., where they both died - his father in 1853, and mother in 1871 ; when II years old, Loui< went to live with Mr. V. S. Ferris, proprietor of a large flouringmill, at Swanton ; he attended siliool for the first two winters, his teat'hers being the poet John C. Saxe and hi-< brother ; when not in school, he was learning the miller's trade ; he was next a cook on board a steamer on Lake Champlain, and by the year 1840 he became quite a sailor, as well as cook and miller ; he was then employed by Mr. Catlin, proprietor of the Cathn Mills, of Burlington, Vt., and also of a line of steamers on Lake Champlain ; the first three years of his stay at Burlington were in the mill, but the last six summers he was Captain of a steamer on the lake for Mr. Catlin, spending the winters in the mill, however ; in May, 1855, S. P. K. Lewis, of Beaver Dam, Wis., came to Burlington and employed Mr. Rushlow to come to Wisconsin and take the position of miller in the mill at Beaver Dam, in whose employ he remained fourteen years; in 18G9, he with three partners bought the Beaver Dam mill of E. R. Hoyt, but he soon sold his interest, and was employed as miller in the same till February, 1873; he tlien went to Tomah, Wis., and was employed as foreman in the mill of which Freeman & Runkle were proprietors; in November, 1874, he returned to Beaver Dam, and was miller for S. P. K. Lewis & Sons till 1878 ; in 1877, he bought a farm of twelve acres in Sees. 12 and 13, town of Calamus, where he has devoted his attention to farming since he (juit the mill. At Burlington, Vt., Oct. 27, 1849, he married Miss Aurelia, daughter of Basil and Margaret Lapeire, of Verchere, Lower Canada ; they have had nine children - Louis R. (of Mitchell, Iowa), Juliette (now Mrs. F. F. Williams, of Mitchell, Iowa), George W., Rhoda (now Mrs. William E. Ijabaron, of Mitchell, Iowa), Fred S., Francis (deceased), Francis E., Eugene (deceased), Lester J. Mrs. Rushlow is a member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Beaver Dam.

HARVEY N:fIITII. farmer. Sees. 1 and 12; P. 0. Beaver Dam; is a son of Allen and Leah Smith ; born in the town of Plattsburg, Clinton Co., N. Y., July 26, 1796, spent his early life with his father on a fiirm in his native country. Sept. 27, 1820, he married Miss Eleanor, daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth Sanburn, of Plattsburg, after which he followed farming, in Clinton County, N. Y., for thirty-five years; May 9, 1855, they started for Wisconsin, and settled in the city of Beaver Dam, where he made his home for ten years ; in 1856, he bought a farm of 100 acres in Sec. 7, town of Arlington, Columbia (!o., Wis., from which he derived the larger part of his income, while he lived in Reaver Dam ; in 1866, he sold that farm and bought his present one of 100 acres in Sees. 1 and 12, town of Calamus, which has since been his home ; he held the office of Assessor in the town of Plattsburg for ten years, aud was twice elected to the same office in the Third Ward, city of Beaver Dam. Mrs. Smith died Dec. 12, 1876'; they had seven children - Melancthon, now of Beaver Dam ; Susan R., deceased; George, deceased ; Henry N. ; three infants, deceased. Mr. Smith is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Beaver Dam. Henry N. married Miss Julia A., daughter of Harry and Julia Medberry, of Calamus, June 27, 1867 ; they have two daughters - Mabel and Delia. She is a member of the Assembly Presbyerian Church.

MOSES T. THOJII»SO]¥, farmer. Sec. 4; P.O. Columbus; is the son of Andrew and Almeda Thompson, born in Madison Co., N. Y., in 1817 ; in 1843, he came- to Wisconsin and settled in the city of Kenosha, where ho worked at the carpenter and joiner's trade on the pier, and in the warehouse for the firm of Lake, Fisk & Lay ; in 1844, he removed to McHenry Co., 111., where he followed farming for two years; in 1846, he returned to Wisconsin and followed farming in the town of Columbus, Columbia Co., till 1864; he then bought his present farm of 120 acres in Sec. 4, Columbus; he has also a farm of eighty acres in Sec. 33, Westford, and ten acres in Sec. 5, Columbus. Jan. 31, 1844, he married Miss Jennett, daughter of Constant and Sarah Blowers, of Genesee Co., but a native of Southport, Chemung Co., N. Y. ; they have had six children - Lucius H.; Lewis, deceased; Charles, of Dakota; Emma J.; Mrs. George Bashford, of Iowa; Jerome B., of Westford ; Ellen L., Mrs. Rudolph Craus. Mr. Thompson is a man who takes great interest in public schools, and has been a member of the School Board for several years. He is a Republican politically.

OWEK J. THOMAS, farmer, Sec. 29; P. 0. Columbus; is a native of Angleshire, North Wales ; son of John and Margaret Thomas ; born Jan. 4, 1820 ; he spent his early life on a farm in his native country, and in May, 1845, he set sail from Liverpool for America, and landed in New York about the middle of June following; he came thence to Racine, Wis., where he attended school and clerked in a store nearly six years. Returning to Wales in the fall of 1850 he married Ann, daughter of John and Catharine Jones, of Angleshire, Feb. 28, 1851 ; in May following, he with wife came again to Racine, thence to the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis. ; in the fall of 1851, he purchased a farm of eiajhty acres in the town of Monroe, Wis. ; ten months after, he sold that and bought another in same county, where he made his home for two years; in the spring of 1854, he disposed of his interest in Manitowoc Co., returned to Calamus, Dodge Co., and bought a farm of 160 acres in Sec. 29, where he now enjoys a commodious home, as the fruits of his years of toil. Mrs. Thomas died at her residence, March 16, 1874, leaving her husband and four children to survive her, one having died before her - Margaret, now Mrs. D. D. Jones, of Calamus; John 0.; Mary B., deceased ; Ellen J., Thomas J.,

WILLIAM W. WILLIAMS, farmer, Sees. 32 and 33 ; P. (). Columbus ; was born in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, March 15, 183.5 ; in the sprinp; of 1845, he, with his parents, William W. anil Mary Williams, sailed from Liverpool for America, and landed at Quebec, in May of that year; they came thence, via Racine, to the town of Calamus, Dodge Co., Wis., where his father entered a farm of 80 acres of land, in Sec. 32, to which he received a Government deed, signed by President Taylor, and to which he afterward added 80 acres, in Sec. 33, making now a farm of 160 acres; he spent ten months tiring on a steamboat on the Mississippi River, then returned to the firm, and has since made it his home. He has been a member of the Town l5oard several terms. In 1860, be married Miss Ellen, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Jones, of Calamus, but a native of Denbighshire, Wales; they have had sovea eliildren - John H., Henry J., William (deceased), Mary E., William C., Robert and an infant (deceased); his mother died here in the fall of 1849, and his father in the spring of 186S). They were devoted members of the Welsh M. E. Church, and so is Mr. Williams' family.