Osceola Town

Osceola Town

The name of the famous chief of the Florida Indians is perpetuated in the name of this town - Township 14 north, of Range 19 east. It is rich in timber,' small lakes, fish and wild waterfowl. The town was named by VV. R. Longstreet. It was first settled, probably, in 1845, by Washington Noble, James Farr, and Peter Radliff, at what is now Waucousta. About eight months later, W. R. Longstreet, John Beeson, William Mitchell and Silas Allen settled at the same place, and John Graham, William Oliver, John Airhart, Joseph Cavanagh and others soon after settled in other parts of the town.

In February, 1849, the infant daughter of Michael and Ellen Scannell died, and later the same year, Mrs. Noble died - the first death in Osceola.

The first election was held in April, 1851, when the town was set off from Eden. Rev. J. W. Whitney was elected Chairman ; W. R. Longstreet, Superintendent of Schools ; William Mitchell, Clerk ; Leander Mayhew, Treasurer.

In 1850, Sarah J. Walters taught the first school, at the house of N. Carey. In the winter of that year a schoolhouse was erected on Section 8. The town now contains seven good schoolhouses. The first sermon was preached in William Mitchell's house, by Rev. John W. Whitney, in 1847 ; probably the first church edifice was built in 1855 or 1856, on Section 2, by the Catholics.

The first saw-mill and first grist-mill were built at Waucousta, by John Beeson - the former probably in 1848 ; the latter two or three years later. Both were on Middle Branch of the Milwaukee River.

The first Irish settler was Michael Scannell, 1848 ; first German, John Airhart ; first Scotchman, Willi:im Mitchell ; first Americans, William Oliver and John Graham.

T. W. Pureell opened the first store in Osceola, at Waucousta, not earlier than the fall of 1859. J. H. Trentledge now has a large store at this place, and there are also blacksmith, shoe and wagon shops, cheese factories, and the store kept by Mr. Tompkins, in which is the post ofince.

At Dundee, which was platted, recorded and named by E. M. Mcintosh, in February, 1864, is a good water-power. The first dam and saw-mill were built by Stephen Palmer and Mr. Mcintosh, in 1855. Soon after, the property fell into the hands of William and Leroy Palmer, who built the flouring-mill in 1858. It is now owned by F. HoUensteiner. The first Postmaster at Dundee was I. S. Sheldon. The office is now kept by Jacoib Arimond, though F. HoUensteiner is Postmaster. Dundee Hotel is kept by Mr. Brokmeyer, who started the cattle fair for Dundee in 1870. There are three churches at this village - a Catholic mission, supplied by- Father Michels, of New Cassel; a Reformed church, built in 1876, of which F. Hollensteiner is Treasurer and Rev. F. Maurer, Pastor, and a Lutheran church, built in 1878.

JOHSf and E. C. AIRHAKT, flirmers, Sec. 17 ; p. 0. Osceola ; John Airhart was born in Alsace, France, July 24, 1790; when 16 years old, he joined Napoleon's army, served through the German and Spanish campaigns, was captured by the English and held prisoner in Malaga six months ; then enlisted with the English and served over three years with the garrison on the Island of Malta was then sent into Canada, and fought during the war of 1S12 ; deserting the British at Plattsburg, he settled in Albany Co., N. Y., where he married, Dec. 15, 181C, Miss Mary Killmer, who was born June 19, 1794, in Greenbush, Rensselaer Co.,N. Y.; about 1833, they left Albany Co. and settled in Rensselaer Co., remaining until June, 1848, when the family settled on the Airhart homestead in Osceola ; bought 320 acres, part of which has been given to the heirs, the farm now containing 200 acres. For some time the family lived in a rude shanty built by a Mr. Cole; there are five children living - Eveline, Mary M., Edward C., Willam B. and Martha; they have lost four - Sarah, Dinah, Helen and John H. (who died in the Union service at Duvall's Bluff, Ark., in 1864) ; Edward C, William B., John H., Helen and Martha, and Mary M. (now ^Irs. Nathan Carey), all came to Wisconsin with the old folks, who are now doubtless the oldest married couple in the county. Edward C. was born in Albany Co. N. Y., March 16, 1828, and married, Dec. 25, 1851, Miss Sarah J., eldest daughter of Aaron Walters, of Eden, she leaving at her death, June 14, 1867, one daughter - Helen E. (now Mrs. A. R. Pasenger, of Watson, Lewis Co., N. Y^). On the 30th of April, 1868, he married Miss Mary E., daughter of E. R. Tripp, who came from Oneida Co., N. Y., to Walworth Co., Wis., in 1854, and settled in Fond du Lac Co. in 1862 ; his wife was Sarah E. Bartlett, and both are dead. Mr. and Mrs. Airhart have two daughters - Edith M. and Mary E. Father and son are Republicans, E. C. having served as Supervisor and Chairman.

CALiVIN H. ALiLElV, farmer, Sec. 30 ; P. O. Waucousta ; was born in Ashland Co., Ohio, Oct. 19, 1835 ; son of Capt. Silas Allen, who led a restless life, sailing for many years on Lake Michigan and the other great lakes; in 1847, he bought 400 acres of Government land in Osceola, on which he settled with his family in May, 1848 ; having but little means, the family saw much of pioneer privation and hardships ; after making a good farm and home of this wild land, Capt. A. sold it and removed to St. Joseph, Mich., where he died Jan. 12, 1872 ; a strong, earnest and true man, he was missed by scores of warm friends. C. H. Allen settled on his farm of eighty acres in 1857 ; of his first forty only eight had been cleared and broken ; beginning with almost nothing, he built a shanty and kept "bachelor's hall " about three years; Mr. Allen has reclaimed his land and made a most pleasant home. He married, March 22, 1860, Miss Sarah, daughter of James Yapp ; she was born in Worcestershire, England, coming to America in 1851, and residing in Fond du Lac until her marriage ; they have one son - Leonard J., born May 31, 1868. Both Mr. and Mrs. A. are supporters of Christianity, she being an Episcopalian. Mr. A. is, like his father, a Democrat.

JACOB ARimOXD, merchant, Dundee; born Oct. 12, 1840, in Germany; his mother died the next July, and, in 1844, his father came to America ; Jacob came with his grandfather in 1851, and joined his father in Marshfield, Fond du Lac Co., and learned the mason's trade of him ; after three years, lie went to Tayoheedah, and, when he lefi there, entered the paint store of James Edwards, Fond du Lac, going from there to a hardware store ; in August, 1863, he went to California via the isthmus, and the second year opened a store in San Francisco, returning to Wisconsin, via the Nicaragua route, in February, 18t5() ; in May, 18G6, he bought the store and stock of A. Larsdt, Dundee; did business in the old stand three years; then built his large two-story store, which is 24x66 feet in size, and well fitted up ; here he has the post office, as deputy, and carries a large and complete stock, the only one in Dundee; keeps any and every thing to meet a country trade, including drugs, medicines, notions, etc., besides farming implements. Married, in 1866, Miss Mary Deweis, of Fond du Lac, and has two children - Gudula C. and Edward J. Mr. Arimond is a Democrat, and a Roman Catholic, with his wife, who was born in Germany, and settled in Fond du Lao in 1855.

AJ^HER ARMSTRONG, farmer, Sec. 2; P. O. Armstrong's Corners ; born in Hoosic, Rensselaer Co. N. Y., June 17, 1821 ; was educated there, and married Miss Adelia Harris; made a visit to Wisconsin in 1847, and, in 1849, settled on a fann near the McCullough Schoolhouse, in Auburn ; in 1851, he exchanged with Mr. Bates, and settled on his present farm of 200 acres; of this, perliaps six were cleared, on which was a log shanty ; since his settlement, the crossing of the road .south of his house has been called Armstrong's Corners, and the post office was established here in his house in 1854 or 1855 ; it was soon transferred to the house of S. P. Armstrong, where it was kept until 1872, when the brothers left their farms, and Mr. Stannard, who still serves, was appointed; he rented Mr. Asher A.'s farm, and began keeping the office in his house, where it is still kept. Asher A. took a position under Mr. Wheeler in the State Prison, where he served until 1874 ; was then a year in business iu Fond du Lac, returning to his farm in 1875 ; in lS78, he built a cheese factory and store, which burned New Year's Day, 1880 ; Mr. A. has nearly completed a large two-story building, which he will fit up in the best manner for a cheese factory, and one large room for a store ; the upper story will be a public hall, 34x20.} feet in size ; his factory was and will be a complete success in spite of rival factories. In the fall of 1851, his vote, with three others, were the only ones cast for the Free Soil ticket in a town which afterward gave a Republican majority of forty ; his first vote, in 1844, was for Mr. Bisney. Mr. A. has been Town Treasurer, Supervisor and Superintendent of Schools, and received a vote of thanks from his town for his able settlement of a dispute between Osceola and Eden in 1851, he settling with Messrs. William Stuart and Carr, of Eden ; he has also served with credit as Clerk of the County Board, Deputy fjnited States Assessor, Sergeant-at-Arms in the Wisconsin Assembly iu 1860-61, and took the United States census of 1870 in his district, as Deputy Marshal. Mrs. Armstrong died in 1867, leaving sis children - Harper (deceased), Mary, Sarah, Van H., Jay P. and Ida. In 1870, he married Mrs. Sarah Odekirk, by whom he has two daughters - Hattie and Lucy Hayes. As a religionist, Mr. A. believes in doing his whole duty.

O. F. BROKMEYER, proprietor of the Dundee Hotel, Osceola; born March 25, 1845, in Prussia; came to America in 1861, and worked a year in a pail factory at Two Rivers, Wis.: was two' years in Fond du Lac and eighteen months in the iron region of Lake Superior ; he then made a year's visit to the Fatherland ; returned, and opened a store in Elmore, where he was the first Postmaster; after two years here, he sold out, and bought the Dundee Hotel April 4, 1870 ; it is the only public house in the village, and he has more than doubled it in size, added good stabling, ice-house, etc.; has also the only livery and bar in the place. Married at West Bend, Wis., July 4, 1866, Miss Catherine Lenn, a native of Switzerland, by whom he has four children - William, Caroline, Anna and Kate. Mr. Brokmeyer is a public-spirited and genial landlord, and a liberal giver to the local churches ; was also the originator of the Dundee Stock Fair of June, 1870. Politics, a Democrat.

I>ANIEI.< CAVANAGH, fiu-mer, Sec. 8 ; P. 0. Osceola; born in Dingle, County Kerry, Ireland, Feb. 2, 1831 ; is a son of James and Ellen Cavanagh, who emigrated to America in 1834, stopping a short time in Bangor, Me., then settling in Waltham, Mass., where Daniel received his schooling ; the family settled on a farm in Washington Co., Wis., in 1842, remaining until April, 1849, when they settled on Government land on Sec. 3, Osceola, being the second Irish family to locate here. The subject of this sketch continued his studies in Wisconsin, living on the homestead until 1869, when he bought his farm of 220 acres ; his mother died in September, 1853, and his father in January, 1868 ; Mr. Cavanagh has proved himself a capable farmer, having built a basement barn 46x71 feet, with twenty-two foot posts, and a handsome square, two-story residence; has also brought 135 acres of his farm to a good state of improvement. In politics, a Democrat ; Mr. Cavanagh was elected in 1861 Town Treasurer ; then followed his election as Chairman of Osceola from 1864 to 1877, with the exception of three years ; in

New Cassel

1869, he was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly, and to the State Senate in 1875. He married Miss Margaret, daughter of Henry Hardgrove, one of the Irish pioneers of Forest, on the 20th of February, 1854, they having seven children - Ella, Mary, James T., Daniel, Anna, Henry and Jennie ; Mary is the wife of E. H. Lyons, of Osceola. Mr. Cavanaah and family are Roman Catholics.

CHARI^iES COOPER, farmer. Sec. 6; P. 0. Osceola; born Oct. 17, 1808, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, where he married, in 1838, Miss Mary Inglis, a native of that shire; they came with three children - Elizabeth, Charles and Mary - to America, reaching the Cooper homestead in October, 1819, with a team hired in Milwaukee. Fond du Lac then had but two stores. Mr. Cooper bought the farm of W. Nobles, ajid was the second Scotchman to settle in the town of Osceola. The lumber for the floor of his log house was hauled from Sheboygan, and it was roofed with poplar troughs. Roads were poor and without bridges - Mr. Cooper going often to Plymouth to mill when there was only flour enough for a single baking in the house ; all his teaming and breaking was with oxen, and he did good work as a pioneer ; died Sept. 22, 187(5. Elizabeth is Mrs. Horace Eels, of Waupun Township; Mary is Mrs. J. B. Tripp, of Fond du Lac; Charles was born June 3, 1813, and did his share in improving the farm, which he now owns, with its excellent barns and spacious house, which has replaced the log house of old times ; the farm is 160 acres; on the 17th of July, 1879, he married Miss Sophia Yokeum, of Auburn. The family are Presbyterians, and Mr. Cooper a Republican.

JOH9f ^jrRAHAiH, farmer. Sec. 9 ; P. 0. Osceola; born in the city of Carlisle, Cumberland, England, Slaroh 28, 1821 ; came to America with his parents in 1836, both he and his father taking an active part in the patriots' outbreak in 1837, narrowly escaping the vengeance of the British, and settling in Albany, N. Y.; then going to New York City, where John Graham resided three years, then locating in Geneva, N. Y., where he worked three years for T. B. Burrell ; in September, 1811, he reached Jlilwaukee, and, during the next two years, was engaged in chopping in the woods south of the then village ; was joined here the second year by his wife, he having narried Miss Louisa Legare, they then settling among the openings of Dodge Co., living in a bark-roofed shanty floored with basswood slabs ; on the 10th of January, 1848, they settled on Government land on Sec. 17, town of Osceola, building the first house in the town, all other buildings being shanties; for doors and windows they used blankets, and, when Mrs. Graham was alone at night, with a pack of ravenous wolves howling on either side of the house, we may well excuse her fright. The oldest son, Byron, was born here on the 11th of March, 1819, and theirs was the first white child born in the town ; the other living children are Caroline, Agnes, Josephine and Garrie; Caroline is the wife of Allen Pulling, of Greenbush, Wis.; Agnes is Mrs. Noble Adams,, of Fayette Co., Iowa; Josephine resides in Menominee Falls, Wis., and Garrie is a teacher in Rosendale ; Byron married Miss Catherine Roltgen, and is now on the homestead. John Graham began in this town with 18 cents in his pocket, his family doing without a floor or a stove the first fall, and living on cornmeal ground in a coffee-mill, destitute of butter, pork or milk, and using an old chest for a table, sleeping on a pile of logs, and doing without chairs. As a reward for the privations so patiently endured then, he has a well-improved farm of 120 acres, a pleasant home and all needed barns, etc. Is a Catholic and a Republican. He also served about a year with Grant in the 5th W. V. I., Cc. H ; duriag the assault on Petersburg, his brother was shot dead; the honorable discharge of Mr. Graham dates June 11, 1865.

l¥ILil.iIA3I KEYS, farmer. Sees. 17 and 18; P. 0. Osceola; born in County Fermanagh, Ireland, July 17, 1810 ; came to America with his family in 1850, settled in the town of Empire, and, after four years, on his present farm. To reach this, he cut a track through the dense brush, which track is now the highway passing his house. Building a log shanty, he did sturdy work with his ax, having little to do with and much to contend with; in payment, he has a well-improved farm of 160 acres, several barns, sheds, etc., and has supplanted the shanty with a tasteful residence. In 1837, he married Miss Margaret Wiley, of County Tyrone, Ireland ; they have six children - Thomas W., William C, Sarah L., Hannah J., Eliza A. and Etta M. ; the eldest is a physician in Le Roy, 111. ; William C. is a substantial farmer in Eden ; Sarah L. is Mrs. Charles Montgomery, of Calumet Co., Wis., and Hannah is Mrs. C. E. Tripp, of Eden. The family are members of the M. E. Church ; Mr. Keys is a Democrat, and has been Supervisor and Chairman of Osceola.

THOMAS McGRATH, farmer. Sec. 11 ; P. O. Armstrong's Corners; born in County Tlpperary, Ireland, Aug. 3, 1821 ; came to America in 1811, followed, in 1812, by his mother and brothers, his father having died in Ireland. The brothers worked on the railways of the difterent New England States for several years; the family settled in Osceola in 1819, Thomas buying his 160-acre farm of the Government. He and his wife saw much of pioneering, he chopping and burning the heavy timber which covered his farm, and living in a shake roofed log shanty. Beginning with little or nothing, the result of his care and labor is an improved farm, a basement barn, 30x80 feet, with other buildings, and a tasteful residence in place of the shanty of early days. He married Miss Mary Donaher, of Chester Co., Penn., by whom he has seven children - Huj;;h, Maria, Anna, Martha, Emily, Thomas and Alice. Tlie parents of Mrs. McGrath settled in Pennsylvania in 1827, and in Sheboygan Co. in 18-17. Mr. McGrath is a Democrat and was for many years a Supervisor; the family are Roman Catholics.

WALTER STANTON, farmer. Sees. 7 and 8; P. 0. Osceola ; born in March, 1820, io County Mayo, Ireland ; came to America with his wife in 18.51, she staying in Onondaga Co., N. Y., while he pushed out for Wisconsin, bought his firm and planted corn and potatoes that spring. His wife joined him, and they began their struggle with the privations of frontier life ; their capital was good health and pluck. Mr. S. did without a team at first, planting his corn in the rooty, unbroken soil with a grub hoe. They saw many hardships, but persevered, and, as a result, have a well-improved farm of 120 acres, good barns and a pleasant home ; a striking contrast to their surroundings when deer could be shot from the door of their slab-roofed shanty. Mrs. Stanton was Miss Hannah Durkin, born and wedded in County Mayo, Ireland. They have one son - James H., born Dec. 10, 1860, who was educated in the State Normal School, Oshkosh. Mr. S. is a Democrat, and the family are Catholics.

JOHN H. TRENTIiAGE, merchant, Waucousta; born Feb. 18, 1833, in Hanover ; came to America in August, 1848; was a year in a New York grocery .store; then clerked ten years in Milwaukee; came to New Cassel in 18.59, and with J. D. Iding. began business in Waucousta the next year, they building the largo two-story store of Mr. T. The partnership was di.ssolved by mutual consent in 1865 ; Mr. Trentlage served as Postmaster of Waucousta from 1864 to 1879 ; is a Republican of Greenback tendencies. He carries a large and complete stock of dry goods, groceries, drugs and medicines, boots and shoes, hats, caps, glassware, notions, etc., etc.; he has a saloon in connection, and also deals in agricultural implements. He married Laura Jane Lake, of Milwaukee Co., by whom he has eight children - Eliza, Marion, Laura, Cora, John, Annie, Willie, Ernest and George. Mrs. T. was born in 1844, in Ohio.

DAVID TWOHIG, farmer. Sec. 1; P.O.Armstrong's Corners; born Feb. 14, 1837, in County Cork, Ireland ; is a son of Bartholomew and Hanorah T., who emigrated to America in 1848, and remained in Chicopee, Mass., until 1852, when the family made a brief visit to Wisconsin and bought the farm. After the return to Massachusetts, Mr. Twohig, Sr., died, and, in 1855, the family settled on the farm of eighty acres, now owned by David Twohig, he having built good barns and a handsome modern residence. He married, Feb. 6, 1877, Miss Bridget Hardgrove, a native of County Clare, Ireland, her people having reached America in 1846, and settled, in 1852, in Forest. Mr. and Mrs. T. have five children - Bartholomew, Norah E., Henry F., David J. and George R. The flimily are Roman Catholics. Mr. Twohig is officially identified with his town, as he was elected Supervisor at 22 years of age, and has been elected Assessor four years.

Source changes here: from Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin, Past and Present, by McKenna, Maurice, published 1912; 488 words in this source stream.

Osceola Town

The town of Osceola gets its name from the famous Florida Indian chief Osceola. At one time it was rich in timber and had numerous small lakes. It was first settled in 1845 by Washington Noble, James Farr and Peter Radliff. A few months later they were joined by W. R. Longstreet, who gave to the town its name; John Beeson, William Mitchell and Silas Allen. About this time other parts of the town were settled by John Graham, William Oliver, John Airhart, Joseph Cavanagh and others. The town was organized in 1851 and in April of that year at an election held, Rev. J. W. Whitney was elected chairman, William Mitchell clerk;. Leander Mayhew assessor; W. R. Longstreet, superintendent of schools.

The soil of Osceola is highly productive and there are many finely cultivated and well kept farms. The landscape is beautiful and the lakes are attractive and furnish an abundance of fish for the followers of Izaak Walton.

The first birth in this town occurred in the family of William Oliver in 1847. Byron Graham, son of John and Louisa Graham, was born March 14, 1849.

In February, 1849, the infant daughter of Michael and Helen Scammell died, and later in the year Mrs. Noble was buried. These were the first deaths in the town.

The first school was taught by Sarah J. Waters at the house of M. Cary in 1840. A schoolhouse was erected on section 8 in the winter of that year.

Rev. J. W. Whitney preached the first sermon in the town of Osceola at the house of William Mitchell in 1847, and the first church edifice to be built was in 1856, on section 2, by members of the Catholic faith.

A postoffice was established and called Osceola and also one at Waucousta. These have been discontinued. Postoffices established in an early day at Dum dee and Armstrong's Corners have also gone out of existence.

A village called Dundee was platted by E. M. McIntosh in February, 1864. Here a dam and sawmill had been built by Stephen Palmer and Mr. McIntosh in 1855. The property soon afterwards came into the possession of William and Leroy Palmer, who built a flouring mill in 1858, which was later owned by F. Hollensteiner. The first postmaster at Dundee was I. S. Sheldon. Dun¬ dee became quite an important little trading point, with general stores, school and three churches, but it has long since lost its attractiveness to the surround¬ ing country.

Michael Scammell was the first Irish settler, who came in 1848. William Mitchell was a bonny Scot. He was early in the field, as was John Airhart, who came from the fatherland.

The first store opened in the town of Osceola was located at Waucousta by T. W. Purcell in 1859. Here J. H. Trentledge later had a store. There was also a blacksmith and wagon shop, cheese factory and other industries.