Jefferson Town

Jefferson Town

In 1835, Jonathan E. Clark of Ohio built on section thirty-two the first house built in the town of Jefferson. Thither, in the spring of 1836, he brought his family from the mines. He was not long without neighbors. In the fall of 1836, David Bridge, also from Ohio, built on section twenty what was called the prettiest cabin this side of Chicago. Settlers had so much to do, and it took so much time to get lumber and puncheons, that in all the towns some families lived at first in doorless and fioorless houses. Doors were the only things for which lumber was provided. It was lumber that Mr. Hawthorne had brought from Galena to make a cabin door that made the first coffin in the county - Mr. Patterson's. In Mr. Bridge's cabin, a puncheon floor was made in the ends of the room, and there the beds were made. At first, Mr. David Bridge and his father, Mr. John Bridge, slept at one end of the room, and Mr. Jeremiah Bridge and his family slept in the other end. A homeless family asked and obtained leave to sleep on the ground in the middle of the room, but rattlesnakes that raised their heads there were inhospitably cut off, ere they were fairly out of their holes. Other settlers in 1S36 were Daniel Harcourt, John Chryst, and Joseph and Simeon Forbes, all from Indiana. In the winter of 1836 - '7 Mrs. Jeremiah Bridge died. The settlers of ib'37 were Wm. Rittenhouse, F. T. Kendrick, James Riley and Henry Minert from Indiana, Jehu Chadwick from Pennsylvania, and James Christie, Michael Alben, and Joel De Camp. Most of those who came in the next few years came from Pennsylvania. Thev were not only bound to each other by recollections of the home they had left, but they selected their farms here with reference to the new ties that might be formed through church organizations. The north-east corner of the town became a stronghold of the Baptists, section seventeen was a Methodist centre, and the Christians congregated on and near section thirty-two. Before there were any churches, a man so tall that some of the boards in the floor of the loft had to be moved to make room for his head preached once at Mr. Clark's house. All the people came with ox teams, some of them from a long distance, and good Mrs. Clark meant to give them a dinner. The dinner was put to boil in kettles suspended over a fire which was built by the side of a brook; and then the women, remembering the praise given to Mary, went in to hear the sermon. While they listened, an unexpected storm arose, the stones which supported the kettles were blown down, and the dinner was washed away in the brook. The catastrophe was explained by the supposition that the minister's head had penetrated and broken a storm

Soon after his arrival here, John Chryst constructed a " horse mill " for grinding buckwheat. Crops of all kinds were raised in 1S37 - '38. ^ne man raised great quantities of oats, which he sold for forty-four cents a bushel. Another raised potatoes, four hundred bushels an acre. Some good things were lacking vet. There were hardly any stoves, and the ever-praised old fireplace did little more than burn those who sat near it. In the spring, after his first winter here, Jeremiah Bridge laid a floor in his cabin, and found that the ground on which his family had lived all winter was frozen to the depth of eight inches. One day when Mrs. Chadwick set aside her wheel to get dinner she found her fire had gone out. Friction matches had never been seen in the county at that time, and J. M. Chadwick, then a lad of fifteen, was sent three-quarters of a mile for fire. Going home, he was obliged, in order to keejo fire, to stop frequently to gather up and burn dry twigs and barks, so that his return was delaved until the familv was in a very unusual state of mind and appetite. If Charles Lamb, who thought that since in most families dinner is no precarious or unusual thing it is therefore a less appropriate time than many other occasions during the day for saying grace, had dined at Mr. Chad wick's that day, he would no doubt have seen a peculiar beauty in the ceremony. In 1S3S, Mr. LyBrand had matches to sell at twenty-five cents a bunch (a bunch consisting of

;about twenty-five matches glued together at one end), $}ut they were of so poor a quality as to be of little use except to quiet the apprehensions of children who had heard ±00 much about fire and brimstone. Those were the days of borrowing and lending. Mr. Daniel Bridge once went nine miles to borrow a brush scythe, and was told that he might get it from another borrower who had taken it nine miles farther. Everybody with an axe to grind, though he lived as far away as Orangeville, went to Mr. Bridge's.

Among the first civil appointments made in Jefferson was the appointment, some time before the end of 1841, of John Cain to the office of justice of the peace. The petition asking for the appointment was written by a resident of the town, and is said to have begun as follows: " To his majesty, Henry Dodge, governor of Wisconsin and superintendent of Indian affairs; We, your jhumble subjects, ever praying, do humbly pray."

A Methodist camp meeting, the first in the county, was held in Jefferson in the summer of 1S41, and later in the season there was " a basket meeting," lasting five days.

Almost as soon as she came here, Mrs. John Bridge instituted weekly spelling schools, which were held at her home, and attended by all the children -within a mile. In 1840, Jefferson paid her school tax and drew her portion of the public school fund ; but this was paid in Mineral Point bank-notes, and even before it was paid, the bank had failed. Jabez Johnson taught Jefferson's first school, at the house of David Bridge, but in

1841 a school house was built on Mr. Rittenhouse's farm, and in this the first teacher was Wm. Jones. Mr. Chadwick, fearing his children might lose their way on the prairie, ran a furrow from his house to the school house with his breaking plow, which was drawn by five yoke of oxen and which made a furrow twenty inches wide. On this furrow the children walked until the snakes, pleased with the soft ground, took up their abode there, and then they walked in the high grass by its side.

The villages of Jefferson are two - Juda, in the northeast corner, and Twin Grove, almost in the centre of the township. Jehu Chadwick entered, sold, and bought back again the land on which Juda is built, after which he sold several lots and gave lots for a cemeterv and Baptist church. The first building there was a log school house, called, for the old home of the settlers, the Pennsylvania school house. The first person buried in the cemetery was James Chadwick, who died in September, 1846. People who had moved their dead from farm to farm, as their own homes had changed, now brought the precious remains to the new cemetery; so that when, a few years later, the growth of the unexpected village necessitated the removal of the cemetery, some coffins were taken up for the third time. The church was b'uilt in 184S by the society which was organized by Elder Wm. Stilwell, September 19, 1840. This was the first Baptist society organized in the county, and it numbered thirteen members. Elder Stilwell lived in Illinois, but for four years preached to the society once in two months. As he was not willing to give up his other churches, and as .all were anxious to have preaching every week, Deacon Davis went to Pennsylvania in 1845, t° ^n<^ a minister. Elder G. R. Patton, who had charge of five churches, -was induced to give them up, sell his home, and come to Wisconsin. While he was selling his property Deacon Davis came home, and found that during his absence the people had engaged another minister, Elder Lewis. Deacon Davis remonstrated, but the desire to have Elder Lewis was by that time so great that remonstrance would have been in vain, had not the Elder himself been touched by the injustice to his brother minister., and refused to stay. Elder Patton arrived in October, 1845, and is still the pastor of the church. In 1S64 it was necessary to build a larger church. Since then, letters have been given to a great many who were going west, or who wanted to form other churches. The number of members is now two hundred and fifty-one. The first dwelling house in Juda was that of George Debolt, who built a dwelling and a blacksmith shop about the time the first church was built. The next comer -was Garrett Clawson, who built a wagon shop. The third dwelling was Edward Tenney's, and through his efforts a postoffice named Juda was established there in 1849. Soon after this, Robe'rt Hanna came from Pennsylvania, bringing with him a few groceries and dry goods, which he kept for sale in his house. A little village. Two hotels, kept respectively by Robert Hanna and John Overton, sprung into existence and into rivalry with each other; and when the coming of the railroad was foretold, Barney Taylor and John Overton platted the place as Springfield, a name now used only by lawyers and scribes, for, as the postoffice department refused to change the name of the office to Springfield, the people have refused to call the village anything but Juda. Soon after Springfield, or Juda, was platted, a number of enterprising business men were numbered among those interested in her improvement. Prominent among these were Messrs. Axtell, Sherman, J. C. Chadwick, and S. and D. Witmer, and few, if any, have done more to promote the welfare of the village than was done bv the gentleman last named. Being the only point of shipment in Jefferson - a town which has some of the best land, best farms, and best stock in the county - the growth of Juda is necessarily sure. The Judsean, a diminutive but spicy paper recently started by Witmer and Stair, will hereafter be likely to keep before the people of the surrounding country the good points of the village, chief among which are West & Reed's flour mill, Christian Karlen's American cheese factory (one of the largest in the state), the stores of Mess re. Byrne, Newman and Stair, and the large stock business of J. C. Chadwick.

The first voting place in Jefferson was the house of A. Sanborn, near Twin Grove, which is a village of two streets, where the neighboring farmers have their children started on the road to learning and their horses shod, where they hear the gospel Sundays, and get their mail and all the treasures of a country store on weekdays, and where the only butter factory in the county in which the churning is done by horse power may be seen. The factory belongs to J. M. Chadwick, and is under the direction of Robert Start.

The twin groves were a favorite resort of the Indians, and there were well-worn trails to the grove from Freeport and Mineral Point, that, like the old trail from Monroe to Exeter, lasted years after those who maoTe them had passed away. After the coming of the whites, the Indians stopped each year at the groves, on their way from Fort Winnebago to Chicago, where they were paid their annuities, and, as they filed along in their trail, which in places was a foot below the surface, the line was sometimes half a mile long. About two hundred spent the winters of iS35-'6 and '36-'y at the groves, and one night in the fall of '36, they dug and carried away all but one bushel of an acre of Mr. Clark's turnips. And yet they were not an unmixed evil. Besides their services as tanners, - and the most durable suits the settlers had were made from skins the Indians tanned, - they brought with them tea-kettles, and various household conveniences, which 'they may have stolen somewhere else, but which the "whites gladly bought, paying in provisions.

The first house at the corners, as Twin Grove is sometimes called, was the house of Jonathan Hill, built about 1S45. It was a good place for a blacksmith shop, Jonathan Cabel, who made the second home there, kept a wagon and blacksmith shop. Among the farmers who lived near was Isaac Sanborn, who about 1850 started a pottery there, where jugs and crocks have since been made almost every year; and about the close of the war Harrison Clevenstein opened a store there. Since then there has always been one store there. Rightsell & Co., E. L. Walker, and George Wells have done a large business there. The postofhee at the corners was first christened Montezuma. It was then moved southwest and named successively Hope, Josephine, and Newkirk, with which name it went back to the village about 1S60. Not being very profitable it was discontinued for a time, and when it was established again it was named Twin Grove.

Sylvester

The first of the Pennsylvanians in the eastern part of Green County was Allen Woodle, who came to southern Wisconsin in 1S35. ^n tne sPring °f ^S^, Allen and Win. Woodle, the latter bringing his family, came to Sylvester and built the first house in the township, though it is thought Mr. McCraken bought, at. the land sale in '35, the first land bought in the township. In the fall they were joined by their brother, Joseph Woodle and his family. The settlers of 1S37 were Joseph McCraken, a native of New York, but for some years a resident of Illinois, Thos. Woodle and Jesse Mitchell from Pennsylvania, and Davis Bowen from Virginia. Mrs. Bowen, who came in 1S3S, has lived in Sylvester longer than any other woman now there.

In the winter of 1837-8, Joshua Davis, a very estimable young man who came from Pennsylvania with Mr. Mitchell, died of the '-winter fever " - probably the typhoid fever of modern times. He was attended by Dr. Harcourt, whose medical studies consisted, it is said, of a few experiments made with lobelia and a few other medicines on a calf. He visited his patient three times a day and charged a dollar a visit. Dr. Harcourt, whose name was usually pronounced Haircourt, was no more popular in Sylvester as a preacher than as a doctor. The common opinion of him seems to have been expressed by Mr. McCraken, who, after listening to a long harangue of the doctor's, remarked to a fellow sufferer: "The Lord never called Haircourt to preach; oh, no! he wouldn't have done that. He called Bearcourt, or some other court, and Haircourt thought he meant him." In some respects the Doctor seems to have been one of the most agreeable of the early preachers. He comforted those frightened by the doctrine of election, by saying: "Don't believe it; God don't choke religion down any of His children as an Indian rams a knife down the throat of a deer." In the funeral sermons of his own patients he was naturally to their virtues a little kind, and funeral sermons then had in them the possibilities of dreadful things. At one funeral in Monroe in 1843, the minister preached his subject to hell, showed a possible avenue of escape, and preached him in again so many times that the audience was almost frenzied. One woman rose to q-q out and the minister ordered her to sit down. She replied that she would not stay and hear such talk, to which he retorted, that she could not get through the crowd, but he had under-estimated the humanity of his audience.

Amos Sylvester of New York, Joseph and Jacob Reeder, Buckeyes, A. G. Houghton, a Kentuckian, who was in Monroe in 1835, and Rees Rush and Benjamin

Mitchell, Pennsylvanians, came in 1S3S. Among the settlers of 1839 were Thomas W. Thompson, who had spent one year in Clarno, John Sylvester, Sylvester Hill, Justus, James, and Andrew Sutherland, Erastus Hulburt, Mrs. Rachel Sylvester, Mrs. Jerusha Colton, from New York, Dr. Wm. Griffith, who platted the village of Monroe, Jacob Stull, Isaac Betts, and Miss Rachel Palmer from Pennsylvania, and Sullivan.

The first school in Sylvester was the York district school, taught by Mr. Isaac Woodle. The first wedding was that of Mr. Wm. Baird and Miss Elizabeth Woodle.

The citizens of Sylvester seem to have been the first in the county to avail themselves of that best means ot education within their reach, a debating society. From 1S42 to '50 the village of Monroe was never for any long time without some organization of the kind, but Sylvester had a society in the winter of 1S39-40. Most of the questions discussed were political, and great interest was taken in the meetings. Svlvester lost the characteristics of a wilderness more rapidly than the towns that were settled before it. Settlers came in more rapidly, and it cost them much less time and trouble to get lumber and flour from Clarno and other merchandise from Monroe than it had cost those towns to get all the necessaries of life from Galena.

In Sylvester, as in the other towns, every house was open to travelers. Hospitality was both a duty and pleasure; but to a housekeeper who, like one of the hostesses of Sylvester, had a family of ten, with no help, and with a house whose dimensions were only ten by fourteen feet, the duty must have been more apparent than, the pleasure. In many cases, the acquaintance begun by giving the stranger a dinner grew into a life-long friendship, but sometimes the visitor proved to - . uisance. One hon i :eeper, to ph some s guests, killed her i brood of chickens hearing her son pitied because, in his "boiled shirt," put on in honor of the company, he seemed too good to live in such a cabin, which cabin was one of the best houses in the county. Another housekeeper went to eat incovenience to sret a good breakfast for two men who voluntarily promised to pa} a high price, eaten, they asked her to change a larger bill than she had ever had, and, as she could not change it, they paid nothin .-. Usually the amount [mid was entirely at the option of the guests. Many travelers Mopped at Mr. Thompson's in Sylvester. If they paid well, it was all right; and if they did not pay anything, it was all right. The highest price ever charged was a shilling a meal audi a shilling- a lodging. Once ten men ami a woman with their horses stopped, over night. They had their own provisions, except butter and milk, which Mrs. Thompson supplied. Every bed in the hoc.se, all the bedding, and all the stables were given up to the travelers and their horses, but the total charge of ninety cents was complained of as exorbitant. As a general thing, travelers were not delayed by being borne hcav-

Of all the ancient foes of dull monotony, no other had so Ions: a life and so strong- a constitution as a road fight. Road fights were common to all the towns, and they had an infinite variety which makes the selection of a typical example difficult, but perhaps Sylvester gives as good an example of them all as can be found. Mr. Justus Sutherland petitioned the town board of Sylvester to so change a road that it would go around instead of across his land. The petition was not granted. He appealed from the decision of the board to a justice of the peace. The commissioners summoned by the justice to consider the matter ordered the road changed, but, through ignorance of the law, did not file their order with the town clerk within the thirty days allowed by law, and the omission left the order of the town board in force. By the advice of his lawyer, Mr. Sutherland fenced up the road, but his opponents tore the fence down. It was taken down several times, for truth crushed to earth is not more sure to rise again than was this fence. Then Mr. Sutherland and his sons armed themselves and stood guard. The first traveler who came that way flourished a pistol at them, but, seeing them determined, turned around and went away. At the next term of court, suit was brought against Mr. Sutherland for obstructing the highway, but Judge Whiton decided that the road was not a legal road because the law required that in every order for a road the width should be stated, and this had been omitted in the case under consideration. Through the winter following this decision, the road remained fenced up, and the dispute was supposed to be ended. But Mr. Sutherland was still smarting under the injury which his feelings, if not his property, had sustained the year before, when the town board sent men on to his land to work the road, and at the next term of court he sued the board for trespass. This lead to a diligent study of road laws, and Judge Whiton learned that an act subsequent to that on which he had based his decision, legalized all roads in existence at the time the first law was enacted. He then reversed his decision, and the road was re-opened. Again Mr. Sutherland petitioned the town board, but with the same result as before; for before this time the road question had become the question that divided the town at elections, and the party opposed to a change in the road had elected its candidates. Again he appealed to the justice, also with the same favorable result as before; but this time the filing of the commissioners' report was omitted because Mr. Sutherland's lawver, Geo. E. Dexter, had been elected state senator, and he thought the easiest way of settling the matter was to have the road changed by an act of the legislature. With this end in view, he introduced a bill which would have passed, all unknown to Mr. Sutherland's opponents, had not Judge Noggle, of Rock County, been a member of the legislature. The Judge had at one time counseled the town board, and he still felt enough interest in the case to defeat Mr. Dexter's bill. The next step in the controversy was the endeavor of Mr. Sutherland's friends to make it appear that the report of the commissioners had been properly filed. The a tempt was a failure, but about that time the board proposed a compromise to which Mr. Sutherland assented.

Mount Pleasant

Most fitly named of all the towns is Mount Pleasant. No one can ride over its gently sloping hills and through its long valleys at any time from seed time to harvest, without blessing the good taste of those who first described it in its name.

A part of the first land broken in the county was in this township, but as the house and furnace belonging with the farm were in Exeter, the honor of being the first settler in Mount Pleasant was reserved for John Mitchell, an Englishman, who came to the county with Camp and Collins. He had made important improvements when Mr. Pierce came to Washington in 1837. Leonard Ross and Elias Luttreli had also cultivated land in Mount Pleasant when Mr. Pierce came, but their home was at the Skinner diggings. When but one or two settlers had purchased land, the fairest portion of the township was seized by speculators. One man, Caleb Hopkins by name, bought 2,240 acres in

John Burt, Chester Bushnell, and perhaps Samuel Robb settled in Mt. Pleasant as early as 1S40. Michael McNutt, Edward Raymond, John, Daniel, and Benjamin Rima went in 1842, and found there John Lewis, James and Thos. Gillett, Foster Steadman, and Lewis Nixon. Visitors of the township in '43 remember seeing, on their claims, Wm. Boyles jun. (at whose house the first town meeting was held), Thos. Morton, Josiah Munts, Leonard Heacox, Lyman Smith, Lewis Vincent, Geo. W. Barks, John Manley, Abner Aikens,

Whaley. Many of these men, like many who came after them, spent their first years in the county at Exeter. They followed each other into Mount Pleasant in such quick succession that the oldest inhabitants are unable to agree on the order in which they came. Among the settlers of '44 were Ira Foster, Benjamin and W. W. Truax, Abraham Pratt, Porter Pratt, Samuel Hopkins, Geo. Rogers, Barnett Sunday, Wm. Kessler, John Bain, James Cassle, James Bedell, Lewis and Artemus Silver,

On the tenth of July, 1S44, there was discovered in Mount Pleasant a murder, which caused the greatest excitement in the county at the time, and which has remained a mystery ever since. The murdered man was Mr. Arthur Smith. His body was found in his field in the eastern part of the township, where he had been breaking prairie. The ground still bore the marks of a struggle for life, and, though the remains were so changed by the wolves and the summer sun as to be recognized only by the clothing, yet upon the skull, found some rods from the body, could be seen several fractures made by a small hatchet which had hung on the plow and which showed, when it was found on the ground, the use last made of it. Mr. Smith must have been killed the 28th of June, as he was seen about sunset that day, and the next morning his oxen were running about in the yoke. He had sold his claim for $200 in gold, and he was probably killed for his money. The contents of a trunk in his cabin were scattered in a way that showed there had been a hasty search there for something; but the money escaped the eye of the murderer,, and was found, after the discovery of the murder, done up in the cloth intended for a wedding suit. Suspicion attached itself to several, but nothing was proved against any of those arrested; and some of those who attempted to ferret out the murderer became convinced that the deed was done bv some one living out of the county. Thirteen years after this murder, an old man, whom trouble had made insane, shot and killed his sonin-law. He was tried and acquitted, and these two make up the record of violent deaths in Mount Pleasant. Like Adams, Mount Pleasant had in old times a claim society which sometimes had exciting work to do. A man in Cadiz once entered eighty acres in Exeter that Mr. John Troy had claimed. The circumstances were such as to excite general indignation against the sjueculator; and the society, most of whose members were Mount Pleasant men, sent him a summons to appear in Exeter at a specified time, with a specified sum of money to pay Mr. Troy for the improvements he had made. Instead of going himself, the purchaser of the land sent Mr. Noah Phelps, to make some compromise. Mr. Phelps proposed to the members of the society, most of whom were assembled to enforce their demands, that Mr. Troy should buy the laud of the speculator, paying* the government price. They grimly made answer that they had not a hundred dollars among them, but to the proposition that they should all sign Mr. Troy's note with him, in case some one could be found to lend him the money, they readily agreed. There was one man in Monroe who had the money - Mr. Alanson Corson. To him, Mr. Phelps and Mr. Gardner, would-be-peacemakers, betook themselves. It was night, but they called him up, obtained the money, and hastened on to Cadiz. The speculator was awakened and easily persuaded to deed the land to Mr. Troy; but, when he called his wife, she refused to sign the deed without a present of a new dress from Mr. Troy. By this time the patience of the sleepy and half frozen peace-makers was exhausted. They intimated that, previous to the bestowal of such a gift, Mr. Troy would observe the lady's sojourn in a country so warm that dresses suitable to the climate of Cadiz would be quite out of place. Still the wife insisted that a dress for a deed was one of the rights of women. She was strengthened and encouraged by the example of a determined matron who, rather than sign without a dress, had suffered " him " to lose a sale, and by the knowledge that sometimes in such cases the husband secretly paid for the dress himself. But history records few victories for human rights achieved at four o'clock in a winter night. It was hard to stand for a principle (or a dress), wne.i three men were telling her that if she did not yield her husband would be killed; and just as the day was dawnino- she wrote the words that to Mount Pleasant and Exeter were only an assurance of peace, but to the writer were two black warnings that she had prepared the way for a total loss of her time-honored tax.

In 1843, R-ODel't Witter built a saw-mill on Little Sugar river, in the western part of Mount Pleasant. The mill was built for Chester Witter, who soon sold it, however, to Mr. Steadman, by whom it was sold to Mr. Truman. In 1S45, John Williams, who had built Shobar's mill, the first mill on Richland creek, began to build a grist-mill on Little Sugar river, near the central part of Mount Pleasant. The next year was the " sickly year," when nearly all the inhabitants of the Sugar river valleys were victims of the "chill fever," a fever described as differing from ague in the absence of "shakes," well days, and appetite. All of Mr. Williams' family wrere sick, he died in August, 1846, and the mill was never finished. In 1845, Mr. Steadman was made a postmaster on the mail route from Monroe to Madison. The most striking peculiarities of the surface in that part of the valley which extends from Mt. Pleasant far into Washington. In reference to these mounds or bluffs, Mr. Steadman named the office Monticello, meaning little mountain. A year or two later, he laid out, on the south side of the river, near the mill, a village to which he gave the same name. Jacob and Mathias Marty bought the whole village, vacated the greater part of it, and then extended it on the other side of the river. The only buildings in the vicinity of the village were the mill, the dwelling known as the mill house, and the house on Mr. Steadman's farm. -To induce him to settle there, the new proprietors of the village gave a lot to Mr. Peter Wilson, who in 185 1 built the first house on the north side. The same year Sylvester Hill built a house which was both store and dwelling, and the Marty Bros, built a hotel. Several dwellings were built in 1852. O. R, Bacon's flour mill was built in '54 and Sweeting Taft's saw mill in '56. New stores and shops have since appeared from time to time to meet the demands of the two towns, Washington and Mt. Pleasant, from which the village draws its support, and with which it is steadily growing. Among the successors of Mr. Hill in the mercantile business in Monticello were George Campbell now of Portage, Garland and Noble now of Santa Barbara, Cal., and Messrs. Robert Godfrey, A. Jennison, R. Bridges, and O. R. Bacon. Prominent among those in trade there at the present time are A. Witter, S. Dunbar and J. Berkey. One of the few stores in the county conducted by a grange is at Monticello. For a brief period beginning in 1874, Monticello had a newspaper, the Monticello Items, published by Stair & Lane. A more successful enterprise is that undertaken in 1866 by the Monticello Manufacturing Company, a stock company organized with the following officers: O. R. Bacon, president; Thos. Scars, secretary; and Samuel Johnson, treasurer. The company built a woolen mill in 1866, and two years later another building was erected for a store house. Fourteen persons have constant employment at the mill, which consumes on an average twenty thousand pounds of wool ill a year. Yarns, blankets, balmoral skirts, and all kinds of woolen cloths are made. There is also a saw mill connected with the woolen mill. The officers of the company are at present, Orrin Bacon, president; Thos. Sears, secretary; Benjamin Chenoweth, treasurer.

Largest Farmers In Mount Pleasant In 1876 Largest Stock Growers

The Chicago papers gave Mt. Pleasant the credit of sending the largest flocks of sheep sent to Chicago in the spring of 1S77. They went from the farms of B. L. and Wm. Wood and numbered i,Soo.

Source changes here: from History of Green County, Wisconsin, by Union Publishing Company, Springfield, Ill., Pub. [from Old Catalog], published 1884; 6,430 words in this source stream.

Jefferson Town

This town lies in the southern tier of Green county's civil sub-division. It is bounded on the north by the town of Sylvester, on the east by Spring Grove, on the west by Clarno, and on the south by the Illinois State line. On the government surveys the territory embraced by this town is designated as congressional township 1 north, range 1 east, of the fifth principal meridian, and contains 24,536.92 acres. It is stated that there are 24,337 acres of farming lands, valued at $511,765 or $21.02 per acre. The value of village lots in the town is 825,500, as estimated. The total value of real estate in the town is $537,265, while that of real and personal property is $815,585. The population of the town in 1875 was 1,714; in 1880, 1,438.

The soil of the town is mostly an excellent black loam, with a slight tendency to clayeyness, yet with but little sand. There is some native timber in the west and northeast portions of the town, and the balance is made up of a beautifully undulating prairie. This is a magnificent farming country, and the tine dwelling and farm buildings abundantly testify to the intelligence and thrift of the class wlio make up Jefferson. In the timber the soil is of a lighter nature than on the prairie, yet all is unusually well adapted to the production of all cereals common to this latitude, as well as to indigenous and exotic grasses. The principal farm products of the town of Jefferson grown during the year 1882, were as follows: 1,353 bushels of wheat; 48,585 bushels of corn; 78,248 bushels of oats; 386 bushels of barley; 3,109 bushels of rye; 4,456 bushels of potatoes; 3,580 bushels of apples; 34 bushels of clover

Earlv Settlement

According to the report, and to the best information that can be obtained, J. H. and David C. Bridge and J. E. Clark entered the first land within the present limits of the town of Jefferson. They came from Preble Co., Ohio, in the fall of 1835. Mr. Clark brought his family, driving through two teams, and stopped during the winter of 1835-6 near Dodgeville. Here he was located when the Bridge brothers arrived. In Octobei", 1835, they all came here and selected their land, then went to the land office at Mineral Point to enter the same. David Bridge took land on section 32, as did Mr. Clark. After entering the land David C. Bridge returned to Ohio, and moved his family out in the fall of 1836, having erected a cabin the previous spring. He lived upon the land for a number of years, then removed to section 30, where he lived until the time of his death, which occurred in February, 1882. His widow and one son now reside in Monroe. Two of the children still live in the town - Mrs. Elizabeth Starr and Jacob V. Bridge; the latter resides on section 29.

J. H. Bridge took land on section 30, and aftei' entering the land he remained until the spring of 1836, helping his brother build his cabin, and cutting 5,000 rails, and then he started for Ohio again. He remained there until the fall of 1840, when he moved to this town and settled upon the land he had taken. He lived in the town of Jefferson until 1870, when he removed to Monroe; but two years later he returned to his farm, and remained three years, when he again located at Monroe, where he still lives.

J. E. Clark came to the town of Jefferson in the fall of 1835, settling on the southwest quarter of section 32. He was born in Fayette Co., Penn., Jan. 29, 1795. When he was six months old his parents removed to Preble Co., Ohio, where he remained until he came to Green county, which has since been his home. He was married in Preble county to Mary P, Voorhies, who was born July 13, 1799, and died in 1864. Her father was a soldier of the Indian War, in which he served as ensign, and was wounded in the shoulder by a bullet, which he carried until his death. Mr. Clark's father, Stephanas, died in Fountain Co., Ind. J. E. Clark has eiglit children living, all of whom are married. He is the only one now living of the three judges of election for the location of the county seat of Green county. He was also formerly justice of the peace. The first religious services ever held by the Baptists in the town of Jefferson were at his house in 1836. Mr. Clark's parents were of English descent, and his wife's of Dutch. The latter resided in New Jersey, where they settled about 200 years ago.

the same fiirm, which is the old homes'oad formerly owned by his father, J. E. Clark. He was married July 3, 1856, to Mrs. Sylbey Elliott, of Winnebago, 111. They have two children living - Alma R., now the wife of Claude Hunt, living near Linn Grove; and Myron E. Mr. Clark owns 140 acres of land. He is a member of the republican party and was, at one time, postmaster at Jefferson. He and his family are Church members.

James Riley, a native of Maryland, came from Indiana to this town in 1836, and entered land on sections 11, 12, 1 and 2. He returned to Indiana, and in the spring of 1837, came back here with his family. He brought with him six head of oxen, two wagons, household goods, stock, etc. They lived in a tent until they could build a log cabin. The roof of said cabin was covered with bark and the floor made of basswood bark. He afterwards erected a double log cabin, 16x32 feet in size, one and a half stories high, with a shingle roof, in which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1864.

In the spring of 1836, Daniel Harcourt and John (Jhryst arrived. Daniel Harcourt came from Indiana with his family and settled upoTi land about a mile and a half north of the Bridge and Clark settlement. He remained there for a a number of years when he removed west. John Chryst also came from Indiana, in which State he was born. He stopped the first year near Monroe. He settled with his family - which was quite large - upon a place in the northwestern part of the town, where he lived until the time of his death. His widow is dead. Some of the children are still residents of the county.

Ezra B. Gillett came from Ohio in the winter of 1835-6, and entered in the timber land on section 31. He also entered land on section 25 in Clarno, where he erected a cabin. In the summer of 1 836 he sold his place to John Bridge and in a few years removed to Illinois.

John Bridge, father of J. H. and David, came in the fall of 1836, witli his family and settled on section 29. He lived there until ihe fall of

M. Albin also came at the same time as did John Bridge, in the fall of 1836. He was a native of Virginia, but came herefrom Oliio. He was a single man at the time, but shortly after he came here, he was married to Deborah Ann Bridge, They lived in the town until about 1853, when they removed to Douglas Co,, Kansas, where they still live.

Jeremiah Bridge, a native of Ohio, came from Dodgeville in the spring of 1836, and settled with his family on section 20, He lived here until the time of his death, and his widow and one son, Josephus, still live in the town.

Jotham Scudder came from Ohio in 1838. He settled near the present site of Juda, He had a family of three children. He lived there until the time of his death,

John Kane came from Indiana with a very large family about 1839, and settled near Richland creek, on section 19. He lived there fifteen years when he went to Missouri, and it is reported that he is dead. None of his family are now living in the county. He was a wheelwright by trade, and also a cabinet maker. In an early day he threw a dam across Richland creek, and made a business of manufacturing household furniture. He put up a little shop, put in a turning lathe, and with the power which the creek furnished, he made much of the homely, though sensible furniture that was used in early days. He male a great many chairs, putting in raw-hide bottoms. This little shop he operated for a number of years, and to-day, in many of the little I'abins, and in many of the garrets of the elegant dwellings that have in many instances superceded the log cabins of former daj^s, may he found some of "Kane's old raw-hide bottom chairs," which are saved as mementos of pioneer life and its attendant disadvantages.

Joseph Forbes came from Indiana at the same time, being a brother-in-law of Mr. Kane. He settled near Kane's place and remained for ten or twelve years, when he left.

William Rittenhouse came in 1840 and settled on section 7, where he resided a number of years. He met his death by falling from a wagon. Two years previous to his death, his wife fell from the same wagon and was killed. The same team was also hitched to the wagon. He was a man prominent in town and county affairs, having been clerk of the court and register of deeds. Some of his children still reside in the county.

Rev. Gr. R. Patton was born in Straus burg, Susquehanna Co., Penn., March 13, 1811, and brought up in Fayette Co., Penn. His father was from Delaware and his mother from New Jersey. The former was quite a prominent man, and was principal justice of the peace for thirty years, having an extensive practice, and his decisions were seldom appealed. He served with honor to himself, and satisfaction to his constituency. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a Baptist minister, and preached for fifty consecutive years. Mr. Patton is of Scotch-German extraction. In 1845 he came to this county and settled in the town of Jefferson, taking a homestead on the road l)etween Juda and Monroe. He afterward sold this place and removed to section 2, where he hail purchased 175 acres of land where he now lives. Since twenty-seven years old Mr. Patton has been a preacher of the gospel. His third sermon was preached in the same church in which he continued to preach until his advent in this county. Since then he has preached in the same church. He has been three times married, and his first two wives are buried in Juda cemetery. His present wife was Lydia Roderick, from Pennsylvania. By his first wife he liad eiglit children, five of whom are now living - Daniel J., Rebecca J., James A., Ann E. and Garrett J. By the second marriage there was one child - Arthur R. By his present wife there are seven children - Victor E., now at school in Beaver Dam; Grant E., Thurlow J., Dow D., Edith E. and Cecil D. Rev. Patton first came to Green county in 1834, worked in the mining regions at Mineral Point one summer, returning liome in the fall, coming again in 1845, and making a permanent settlement. As a preacher of the gospel, Rev. Patton deserves special mention, as he has been the means of doing much good. He has probably married more people, and officiated at a greater number of funerals than any other person in Green county. It is said he has married over 600 couple and attended over 600 funerals. He is widely and favorably known, having the respect and esteem of all who know him. He preached his first sermon in Green county, Oct. 4, 1845. He was licensed as a Baptist preacher, to preach in Pennsylvania Jan, 13, 1839, and ordained March 25, 1841, by Revs. S. Sigfried, E. Miles, Isaac Wynn, J. W. B. Tisdale and Milton Sutton, and was baptized by Rev. William Schedwick.

Andrew Roderick, a native of Pennsylvania, came from Virginia in 1846, and settled on section 5. He has since died. Several of his children are still residents of the county,

Events Of Importance

Thomas J. Stewart, a native of Virginia. It was established in the winter of 1840-41, and was a subscription school. It was held in a log cabin erected by Jehu Chadwick. Scholars attended from Sylvester and Spring Grove, as as well from Jefferson.

The first election in this town was held April 3, 1849, at the house of Abraham Sanburn, located on the southwest quarter of section 22. John Barry was moderator, and George Eley, clerk. Jeremiah Bridge, chairman, Garret R. Patton and William, Berry, judges, and E. J. Blackford, clerk.

Probably the first mill for grinding corn and buckwheat was put up by James Riley the first winter after he settled here. He made the buhrs from stone he picked up. He fitted one of them to the hollow log, and then placed the other one on top of that one. He had it set up in one side of his house at first. It was operated by a shaft from the edge of the top stone to the ceiling. It required two men to run the mill, and had a capacity of turning out two bushels of buckwheat per hour.

Religious

At an early day the inhabitants near Juda attended religious services in the town of Sylvester, at the house of Thomas Wardle. Rev. William Stillwell .was the preacher. People of all denominations attended these meetings.

Tn 1840, Henry Howe, a minister of the Ch i'Hti;iii (i)ett('r known as Coinpbellite) Church, liold meetings at the house of James Riley. Among the members of this organization were: James Riley and wife, Isaiah Kline and wife, and two sons, John Kline and wife, Eli Kline and wife, and Christopher Meinert. James Riley was the first deacon. Meetings were held once a month, people coming from long distances, and many of them with ox teams. Elder Howe preached here about three years, when a man named Gleason, a street preacher from Canada, came along and offered his services free of charge. Elder Howe accordingly withdrew. Mr. Gleason preached to the small band of Christians but a few times when he suddenly scourged the congregation for not paying him for preachiug. That was the last time he preached for them, and it was in fact the end of the organization, for it left them without a preacher.

The first religious services held in the southeastern part of the town, was at the house of David Bridge, in 1840. Elder Henry Howe was the preacher. He organized a congregation, among whom were the following members: Henry Johnson and wife, J. H. Bridge and wife, David Bridge, Jeremiah Bridge, Adam Starr and wife, J. E. Clark and wife, Mrs. Deborah Bridge and two daughters, Nancy and Deborah Ann. J. H. Bridge was the first deacon. The congregation met for worship in.privaie houses, until a school house was erected in the neigliborliood. A large portion of the members have moved away, and regular services have not been held for a number of years.

The Richland M. E. church, located on section 5, was erected in the fall of 1873. The cliurch grounds, containing half an acre, were donated by Seth Austin. At the time the church w as built there about twenty members. This grew from a class which was organized many years ago at the school house. The first minister was Elder Walker. The present pastor is Elder Kellogg, The present trustees are: A. H. ^Voodle, Samuel Catherman, Lewis Roub, L. Steveson, William Baird and Seth Austin.

15, 1874, by Rev. G. J. Donmeyer, of the Evangelical Lutheran synod of northern Illinois. The following named persons signed the constitution adopted: E. L. Walker, David Holmes, John Rodocker, Joseph Emrich, Samuel D. Benage, May Holmes, Phyana Benage, Eva Holmes, Ann Rodocker, John Ohl, Lydia A. Ohl, James Holmes, Isabell Holmes, Annie Fries, Mary C. Holmes and Elizabetli Emrich. The following officers were elected: E. L. Walker, elder; John Ohl and Samuel D. Benage, deacons. Rev. J. A. Beidler was selected as first pastor,and commenced his labors in April of the same year. He served the congregation until 1876. From 1876 until 1880 it was served by Rev. J. M. Rees, of the Iowa synod. From 1880 until 1881 by Rev. D. E. Rupley, of the Allegany synod. From 1881 until 1884 by Rev. D. P. Grosscup, of the Iowa synod. In 1876 the congregation built a neat house of worship in the village of Twin Grove. It is a frame building, 34x50 feet, costing $2,775.71, including bell. It was dedicated Jan. 21, 1877, by Rev, Prof. D. L. i'ressler. Ph. D., President of Carthage College, Carthage, 111. In the same year a house and lot in the village of Twin Grove were purchased by the congregation, assisted by three other congregations, for the use of the Church as a parsonage. It was secured for $250. It has since been improved in buildings and other repairs at an additional expense of $150. The present membership of the congregation is forty. The following are the officers: William Stevenson, elder; Samuel Holmes and Leander Stevenson, deacons.

The Richland English Lutlieran Church congregation was organized in February, 1859, by Rev. Ephraim Miller, of the Evangelical Lutheran synod of northern Illinois. Twentyone members were enrolled at a meeting held in Richland school house town of Jefferson, for the purpose of organization. The following is the list taken from the Church book: Samuel L. Roub, Mrs. S. L. Roub, George Bloom,

Mrs. George Bloom, Isaiah Deal, Mrs. Isaiah Deal, Levi Deal, Mrs. L. Deal, Samuel Catherman, Mrs. S. Catherman, Solomon Deal, Mrs. S. Deal, Jeremiali Iliitzel, Mrs. J. Hutzel, Michael Bloom, Mrs. M. Bloom, J. K. Bloom, Mrs. M. M. Bloom, Aquilla Deal and Amanda Hill. The following officers of the Church were chosen at this meeting: Isaiah Deal and S. L. Rouh, elders; George Bloom and Levi Deal, deacons. Rev. E. Miller served the congregation as pastor from date of organization until 1861. Rev. A. A. Triraper, from 1861 until 18G2. Rev. Charles Anderson from 1862 until 1863. Rev. J. K. Bloom from 1864 until 1866. Rev. S. Cook from 1866 until 1872. Rev. J. L. Hammond from 1872 until 1875. G. M. Packer, an applicant for licensure supplied the congregation from the close of 1875 until the middle of 1876. Rev. J. M. Rees served the congregation as regular pastor from 1876 until 1880. Rev. D. E. Rupley from 1880 until 1881. Rev. D. P. Grosscup from 1881 until 1884. Precious revivals were held in the years 1862, 1865 and 1873. A lot of two acres, on section 6, was deeded to the Church, for building purposes, in the year 1873, for the consideration of 1 160. Upon this lot, in 1874, a church building of 200 sittings was built, costing $2,750. It was dedicated by Revs. P. G. Bell and W. H. Schoch, of the synod of northern Illinois. In 1876 the congregation united with the '^Pwin Grove pastorate and contributed to the purchase of a parsonage to be located at the latter place. The officers at present are: Rev. D. P. Grosscup, pastor; William Lore and Samuel Catherman, elders; Solomon Deal and James Holmes, deacons The present membership is twenty.

I'he Spring Grove Lutheran Church was organized Oct. 1, 1S6H, by Rev. S. Cook, of the synod of northern Illinois. Six persons signed the constitution, viz: Josiah Adelman, .Tesse S(^hoch, David Holmes, Hebecca Adelman, Elizabeth Sclioch and Mary Holmes. The officers elected were: David Holmes, elder; Jesse Schoch, deacon. Rev. S. Cook remained as pastor from 1866 until 1872. Rev. J. A. Beidler served the congregation from 1874 until 1876. Rev. James M. Rees from 1876 until 1880. Rev. D. E. Ru))ley from 1880 until 1881. Rev. D. P. Grosscup from 1882 until 1884. From the first of the organization, the congregation had held divine services in a church building of 150 sittings, which had been erected by the people of the community as a churfch for all denominations. Since 1880 no roll of Church membership *has been preserved.

Daniel Paul Grosscup, pastor of the English Lutheran Church of Twin Grove pastorate, Green Co., Wis , was born in Ashland Co., Ohio, Nov. 29, 1846. He was baptized in infancy in the Lutheran Church, and confirmed in the same Church at fourteen years of age. He was brought up on a farm, hence received only the training of a common district school until nineteen years of age. During a part of this period, his father having enlisted, as a soldier in the War for the Union, (42d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Garfield's) he was deprived of regular attendance upon school; but upon his father's return at the close of the war, in 1864, he again returned to books; entering Ashland High School in 1866, boarding at his home and walking three and one-half miles morning and evening. On reaching his majority in 1867, an inheritance of 1 1,200 was at his command. He at once entered Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio, Samuel Sprecher, D. D., president; graduating in the classical department in 1871, and in the theological department of the same institution in 1872. In 1873 he was commissioned by the Board of Home Missions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, of the general synod of the United States, to open a mission for the Church in Iowa City, Iowa. A Church was built up rapidly. In 1875 he was married to Mary V. Schaeffer, third daughter of Rev. G. \V. Scliaeffer, pastor of the English Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Princeton, Iowa. Ill 1879 he WAS transferred by the Board of

Home Missions to Knoxville, Iowa. In 1881 his health failing, and that of his family, he resigned the mission field; and expecting a healthier climate, accepted a call to the Twin Grove pastorate. He has noo been deceived. His health is entirely restored, and his work for the Church continues.

Twin Grovje Cemetery Association

Feb. 20, 1879, a meeting was held in the Lutheran church, and the above named association was organized. Three trustees were elected as follows: For one year, David Holmes; foiiwo years, E. L. Walker; for three years, John Ohl. Annual meetings are held in February of each year. A half acre of land north of the village church has been purchased, at a cost of $50. Lots are to be sold at |10 per lot; and when these sales shall have covered the expense of the grounds, sums arising from subsequent sales, shall be appropriated to the improvement and adorning of the grounds.

The present trustees are: David Holmes, E. L. Walker and John Ohl. This cemetery is under the control of the Twin Grove English Lutheran Church.

Cheese Factories

Joseph Bloomer has a cheese factory on section 18, where he makes different grades of cheese. This was the first cheese factory established in this town.

The cheese factory on section 5, was erected in 1878, by M. T. Gapen, W. J. Chryst and J. S. Roub, who had formed a joint stock company. The present owners are Messrs. M. T. Gapen, W. J. Chryst and William Hartwig. They have a good building and all the modern machinery and improvements for manufacturing Limberger and Swiss cheese. It is well patronized by the neighborhood. The firm also

Timms' cheese factory is located on section 24. The building is 20x54 feet in size, two stories high, witli basement. It receives the milk of about 200 cows. Charles Timms is the present proprietor.

Village Of Jida

The village of Judais situated on sections 1 and 2. The land now included in this village was entered in 1837, by Jehu Chad wick and John Crawford.

In 1848 Martin Dixon pl-atted a village on the south side of Main street, and named it Juda. He erected a small frame house and lived there until 1850, when he sold to Joseph Gaus.

In March, 1852, J. D. Overton, Benjamin Broadbent, Robert Hanna and A. B. Smith platted a village, located in fraction 6, of section 2, townsiiip 1 north, range 8 east, and wliich contained thirty-one lots. The village was named Springfield. In 1857 Joseph Gaus sold out to David Witmer, and he re-platted the old village and made thirty-seven lots, which he made an addition to Springfield. That same yeai-, Samuel Witmer made an addition of fif-

In the fall of 1883, H. C. Witmer circulated a petition that was numerously signed, and which was presented to the county board, and the name of the village was changed back to Juda.

The first death in the village was Phebe, wife of Joseph Gaus. Her death occurred in October, 1850. She was buried in the old cemetery at Juda. During the following year thilee of their children died.

The first building erected was a log school house in 1844. There were no other buildings erected until in 1847. In that year a Baptist church was built; Garret Clawson erected a dwelling house and wagon shop; George Debolt put up a dwelling house and blacksmith shop, and Robert Hanna built a house in which he opened a store and hotel.

George Debolt engaged in the blacksmith business in 1847, doing shoeing and general repairing. He was the first blacksmith in the town. He remained in Juda about fifteen years, when he removed to Sylvester. He remained there three years, then returned to Juda and resumed business. He died in 1882.

Garret Clawson was the first wagon-maker in this village. He opened up a shop in 1847. He remained here several years, then went to Brodhead, where he died some years later.

The first merchant was Robert Hanna, who opened a store in 1847. He followed the business about five years, when he closed out and removed to Iowa.

The next to engage in the merchandise business was J. D. Artel. He erected a frame dwelling on lot 12, and put in a large stock of goods. In 1856 he sold to Elder Patton and his son, Daniel. They soon afterwards sold to H. and

C. J. Hunt. The latter was a practicing physician. He died in a short time. His brother soon closed out the business and engaged in farming.

In 1858 David Witmer engaged in the general merchandise trade, and did the first business of any magnitude in the village. He continued in trade some years, then closed out.

Robert Hanna kept the first hotel, and his guests received the best of accommodations and were well cared for. He went out of the business in about five years. The present hotel was erected by Samuel Ball, who acted as "jolly host" several years. It has since changed hands several times. Chester Gifl^ord is the present landlord.

C. A. Gifford, hotel keeper in Juda, was born in Fulton Co., N. Y., Oct. 3, 1845. He is a son of Robert B. and Susan M. (Foote) Giflford, who now reside upon a fai'm in Spring Grove. In 1856 they left New York and came directly to Wisconsin. They remained a short time in North Prairie, Waukesha county, then came to Monroe. It was their intention on leaving New York to settle in Iowa, where Mr. Gifford, Sr., owned a farm, but on their arrival in Monroe a snow storm set in, it being then the fall of the year, and they were unable to proceed. They then concluded to settle in this county, and rented a house in town, in which they lived two weeks, then removed to the farm of George Goodrich, in Clarno. In the spring of 1857 Mr. Gifford, Sr., taught the district school In the spring of the same year they removed to another farm, owned by David Earlywine, where they lived until tlie fall of 1857, then removed to Juda, to a place now occupied by Mr. Biggs, near the depot. In the meantime they sold their farm in Iowa In 1859 they removed to the farm in Spring Grove where Mr. Gifford, Sr., now lives. C. A. Gifford, the subject of this sketch, was married Jan. 24, 1866, to Emma

I. Hall, a resident of this county and daughter of William R. and Polly (Parker) Hall, 'i'hey have four children - Metta L., Zua B., Robert B and Fred C. Metta L. and Zua B. are both teachers in the public schools of this county. Mrs. GiflFord's father is living in Warren, and her mother is dead.

The first hardware store was opened by Josiah Clawson soon after his return from the war. He remained here a short time, then removed his goods to Iowa.

The first postofiice was established in 1847, with Edward Tenny as postmaster. The village was on the route from Monroe to Beloit, and from Janesville to Mineral Point. Mr.Tenny was succeeded as postmaster by J. D. Axtel; and he in turn by Charles Dudgeon, George Gauf>' and John Swan, the present postmaster.

The first harness maker in the village was A. B. Smith. He opened up a shop in 1851. He continued in business about three years, then sold out to Hugh Benninghaff. The latter remained here a few years then closed out. Jacob und Ezra Frieze opened a shop in 1864. In about three years they sold to Jacob Wilting. One year later he sold to N. W. Hartman, who continued to furnish his patrons with harness, saddles, bridles, etc.

N. W. Hartman came to Green county from Belleville, Washington Co., Penn., March 8, 1871. He is a son of Morgan and Maria (Crabl)) Hartman, who still reside in Belleville. Mr. Hartman, of this sketch, learned the harness maker's trade in his native town, and has followed, the same since coming to Juda. His wife was formerly Sarah A. Swan, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of William and Mary Swan, both of vvhom are dead, and the former is buried in Pennsylvania, the latter in Juda cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman have two children - Mary Lulu and Jesse N. In 1863 Mr. Hartman enlisted in company A, 22d Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was mustered in :it New Brighton, Penn., April 14. He was with Phil. Sheridan in his cavalry exploits, also with

Siegel at Martinsburg, New Market and Lynch burg, also numerous minor engagements. He served until the close of the war, under Generals Custer, Sheridan, Averill and Hunter. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman are members of the Baptist Church and he is a Mason, an Odd Fellow and a member of the A. O. U. W.

The first drug store was started by a man named Bishop, in a building located on lot 4. This was during the war. He paid but little attention to his business, and as a consequence bOon closed up.

The first school house was erected in 1844, and Brooks Dunwiddie was the first teacher. It was a log building, situated on Main street. Religious services were held in this house while it was in use, which was only a few years.

The Juda flouring mill was erected by Samuel Ball in about 1860. The power is derived from two small streams that flow together below the the mill. There is a dam across each stream, and races carry the water to the mill, which has about ten feet fall. The mill contains two run of stone, which for a number of years did a good business. It is now operated by E. Thompson.

Business Dtrkctoey

Drugs - W. F. Moldenhauer. Harness - N. W. Hartman. Millinery - Mrs. P. E. Reed. Hotel - Chester Gifford. Groceries and notions - John Swan. Banking and real estate - Witmer Bros. News depot - Witmer Bros. Station agent - Samuel Young. Shoe shop - Samuel Pletts. Wagon shop - John Waters. Ulacksniith shop - A. Stauffacher and Walter Mackelwee.

V. B. S. Newman, son of Isaac and Adeline (Sparks) Newman, early settlers of Green county, was born iti the town of German, Fayette Co., Penn., June 13, 1832. He there received his early education in the common schools. He came to Wisconsin with his parents in 1849, and made his home with them until he was twenty-two years of age, when he went to Beaver Dam, to attend school, after which he engaged in teaching school in the town of Jefferson, On the 9th of August, 1862, he enlisted in company K, 22d Wisconsin regiment, Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in as orderly sergeant. They first went to Covington Heights, Ky., remaining there until February, 1863, thence to Tennessee. His regiment was captured at Spring Hill, Tenn., on the 5th of March following, and taken to Tullahoma, thence toLibby prison. They were kept prisoners eight weeks, then exchanged and ordered to report at St. Louis. In May of that year, they went to Tennessee and were stationed at Murfreesboro until the spring of 1864, then joined Sherman's command at Chattanooga, and was with him on his march to the sea, thence through the Carolinas to Washington, participating in the many important battles of that memorable canipaign. He was jjiomoted 2d lieutenant in May, 1863, and soon after to 1st lieutenant. He was honorably discharged with his regiment in July, 1865. He returned home and engaged in teaching until 1867, when he embarked in the mercantile business at Juda. He has been successful in business, and still continues in the same. He was married Sept. 20, 1860, to Rebecca J., daughter of Garrett R. and Ruth (Johns) Patton. They have five children - Clyde, Charlie, Kate, Paul and Ruth. He keeps a general stock of groceries, dry goods, clothing, b()<Us, shoes, hats, caps and notions.

stock of about 86,000. He is a native of Ireland, born near Dublin, Aug. 25, 1839, and is a son of James and Jane Byrne. His father died June 18, 1841, leaving his wife and six children. In the year of 1850, the entire family sailed for America, and settled in (^anada until November, 1 85 ! , then came to Green Co., Wis. Mr. Byrne, of this sketch, was married March 18, 1861, to Margaret Oliver, of Belleville, Dane Co., Wis. They have had eight children, five of whom are living - Ida L., James E., Maggie, Alice and Dora M. George Edward, Mary, Elener and Maggie are dead. James E., is a mute, and is in Delavan, at school, where he is pursuing his studies, also learning type setting, and is an apt scholar and general favorite. Mr. Byrne enlisted in February, 1865, in company I, of the 46th regiment, Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in at Madison and did guard duty most of the time that he was in the service. He was discharged in November, 1865. He is a man of good education, and has been a teacher. The Albany Journal speaks of him as follows: "William Byrne, an affable gentleman, and a newspaper correspondent of considerable note, paid us a pleasant visit one day last week. His home is at Juda, Wis." Mr. Byrne is a man of indefatigable courage and possesses great ability of acquiring knowledge, and has become noted for the same, atid in the late history of Green county, is classed witli the largest farmers of the town of York. He is now doing a flourishing business.

W. F. Moldenhauer, druggist at Juda, is a native of Prussia, born Sept. 19, 1842. His father died when he was very young, and his mother married again. He lived u{)on a farm in his native country until 1857, when his parents came to America, and settled at Monroe, Green county, where he remained until 1865, clerking for George Summers, dealer in dry goods, with whom he continued until the spring of 1864, then clerked for A. Pick, about one year, then for J. B. Cook & Co., six moTithn;. He was married June 12, 1865, to Erailie F.

Gloege, a native of Prussia, and sister of H. L. Gloege, the county clerk. Slie came with her parents to Green county, in 1860. After marriage, Mr. Moldenhauer resided upon a fai-m about two years, then, Dec. 1 1, 1867, he went to clerking for Newman & Gans, continuing witli V. B. S. Newman until Jan. 1, 1880, then engaged to clerk for B. B. Bowell, druggist, whom he bought out on September ] 0, of the same year, Mr. and Mrs. Moldenhauer have four children living - Arthur F., Edwin S., Oscar H. and Delia Emilie. They are members of the Evangelical Church. Mr. Moldenhauer was constable of Juda^ in 1878.

Samuel Pletts is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Dauphine county, June 16, 1831. He is a son of John and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Pletts. His parents removed from Dauphine county to Centre Co., Penn., in 1837. His father was a shoemaker, and Samuel learned that trade, at which he has always been employed. He was married in Rebersburg, Centre county, to Sapilla Guire, in 1851. He soon after removed from Rebersburg to Venango county, and remained one year, thence to Rock Grove, Stephenson Co., 111., in 1855. He remained there two years. In 1857 he removed to Juda, this county, and in 1858 removed to Monroe; then in 1859 he removed back to Juda. Mr. and Mrs. Pletts have had eight children, six of whom are living - Margaret A., John F., Charles H., George L., Vasthi and Theodore. They are members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Pletts is an Odd Fellow and Mason, and votes the republican ticket.

Anton Stauffacher, blacksmith in the village of Juda, is a native of Switzerland, born June 16, 1841. When four years old, he left his native country with a colony that came to New Glarus. He remained on a farm until 1861, and on the 7th of October, enlisted in the army, and was in quite a number of battles. He was discharged on account of sickness. He was married July 5, 1865, to Anna Schindler, a native of New York. They have seven children - Henry J., Anna M., Clara L., Anton A., Lydia T., Frank A. and Charles F. Mrs. Stauffacher is a member of the Evangelical Church. Mr. Stauffacher is a republican.