Sussex Village (part 2 of 2)

State Representation

Senate. - Up to 1853, after the organization of the State, Waukesha constituted the Thirteenth District ; after that, it was divided into the Ninth and Tenth, the two districts continuing until 1857, when the county was made to constitute the Tenth District, since which time no change has been made. The following Senators have represented Waukesha County since the adoption of the State Constitution : Joseph Turner, 1848; Fred A. Sprague, 1849- 50; George Hyer, 1851; E. B. West, 1852; G. R. McLane and Marvin H. Bovee, 1853; G. R. McLane and James D. Reymert, 1854 ; Dennis Worthington and James D. Reymert, 1855; Dennis Worthington and Edward Gernon, 1856; Edward Gernon, 1857; Dennis Worthington, 1868-61 ; George C. Pratt, 1862-63 ; William Blair, 1864-65 ; Orson Reed, ] 866-67; Curtis Mann, 1868-69; John A. RLce, 1870-71; William Blair, 1872-73; John A. Rice, 1874-75 ; William Blair, 1866-67 ; John A. Rice, 1877-78; Richard Weaver, 1879-80.

Assembly. - Joseph W. Brackett, Dewey K. Warren, C. G. Heath, George M. Humphrey and Joseph Bond, 1848 ; William H. Thomas, John M. Wells, Albert Alden, David H. Rockwell and Thomas Sugden, 1849 ; Patrick Higgins, Henry Shears, Pitts Ellis, John E. Gallagher and Anson H. Taylor, 1850 ; John C. Snover, Peter D. Gifford, Aaron V. Groot, William A. Cone and Hosea Fuller, Jr., 1851 ; John U. Hilliard, Dennison Worthington, Thomas Sugden, Publius V. Monroe and Fin. McNaughton, 1852 ; Winchell D. Bacon, Edward Lees, Orson Reed and Elisha Pearl, 1853 ; Edward Lees, Jesse Smith, Dennison Worthington and Chauncey H. Purple, 1854 ; Alex. W. Randall, Joseph Bond, Stephen Warren and Benjamin F. Goss, 1855; John James, James Weaver, Charles S. Hawley and Jeremiah Noon, 1856; George Cairncross, James M. Lewis, Thomas Sugden, Elihu Enos, Jr., and Charles S. Hawley, 1857; Albert Alden, Oliver P. Hulett, David Roberts, George McWhorter and Charles S. Hawley, 1858 ; Parker Sawyer, William P. King, Andrew E. Elmore, Charles T. Deissner and Ira Blood, 1859 ; Albert Alden, William R. Hesk, Andrew E. Elmore, Benjamin Hunkins and Robert C. Robertson, 1860 ; Daniel Cottrell, William H. Thomas, Henry A. Youmans, Myron Gilbert and Isaac Lain, 1861 ; George W. Brown, Samuel Thompson, Peter D. Gifford, William A. Vanderpool, 1862 ; Silas Richardson, Elisha W. Edgerton, David G. Snover and Nelson Burroughs, 1863 ; William Costigan, Joel R. Carpenter, Norman Shultis and John Smith, 1864 ; Thomas Weaver, John N. Cadby, John B. Monteith and Myron Gilbert, 1865 ; Daniel Brown, Samuel Thompson, Peter D. Gifford and Jesse Smith, 1866; Jesse Smith, Rufus Parks, and James Murray, 1867 ; Silas Barber, William Thompson and Adam Muehl, 1868 ; Vernon Tichenor, Edwin Hurlbut and James McDonald, 1869 ; Henry Totten, John D. McDonald and Thomas McCarty, 1870 ; Leonard D. Hinkley, John D. McDonald and William Ockler, 1871 ; Eliphalet S. Stone and Charles Brown, 1872 ; Francis G. Parks and David Rhoda, 1873 ; William H. Hardy and Henry Clasen, 1874 ; Silas Barber and Manville S. Hodgson, 1875 ; William H. Hardy and James S. Dent, 1876 ; H. F. Dousman and Thomas McCarty, 1877 ; Alvarus E. Gilbert and Richard Weaver, 1878 ; John Schmidt and William Small, 1879.

Representation In Congress

The act of Congress, approved April 20, 1836, organizing the Territory of Wisconsin, conferred upon the people the right -to be represented in the National Congress by one delegate, to be chosen by the votes of the qualified electors of the Territory. Under this authority, the Territory was represented in Congress by the following delegates :

By the Constitution, adopted when the Territory became a State in 1848, two Representatives in Congress were provided for, by dividing the State into two Congressional Districts.

Waukesha, with three other counties, was included in the First Congressional District, and though the territory of this district was changed in 1861 and 1872, the county has never been out of it. The representation, since Wisconsin became a State, has been as follows : William Pitt Lynde,* of Milwaukee, 1847-49 ; Charles Durkee, of Kenosha, 1849-53 ; Daniel Wells, Jr., of Milwaukee, 1853-57 ; John F. Potter, of Walworth County, 1857-63 ; James S. Brown, of Kenosha, 1863-65; Halbert E. Paine, of Milwaukee, 1865-71; Alexander Mitchell, of Milwaukee, 1871-73 ; Charles G. Williams, of Janesville, 1873, continuously to the present time, his fourth term expiring in March, 1881. Politically, the delegates have beqn divided as follows : James S. Brown, Daniel Wells, Jr., William Pitt Lynde and Alexander Mitchell, Democrats ; and Charles Durkee (Libertyite), Halbert E. Paine, John F. Potter and Charles G. Williams, Republicans.

Territorial District Courts And Judges

Had Waukesha County contained any settlers before 1836, Who desired to "go to law,' they would have been compelled to travel to Green Bay, where, as early as 1820 or 1821' Robert Irwin held the office of Justice of the Peace; or, possibly, it would have been necessary for them to have journeyed to Detriot. Up to that time, cases were tried by Justices in Wisconsin (which belonged to Michigan, however, and could not be legally called by that name), or contestants were compelled to go to Detriot.

The act of Congress establishing the Territorial Government of Wisconsin provided for the division of the Territory into three judicial districts, and for the holding of a District Court by one of the Justices of the Supreme Court in each district, two terms each year in each organized county in the district. The three Justices were Charles Dunn, David Irvin and William C. Frazer. By an act of the Territorial Legislature, approved November 15, 1836, the counties of Brown and Milwaukee (the last named including the territory afterward designated as Waukesha County) were constituted the Third District, and assigned to Justice Frazer.

. The place for holding court was at Milwaukee, the opening of which was a notable event in those days, and attended by nearly all the men in the county, which, of course, included Waukesha. Some reminiscences, therefore, will not only be properly in place here, but of more or less interest and value. The late Alexander F. Pratt, who was an officer (Deputy Sheriff by appointment) of that court, wrote as follows (in 1854) of Judge William C. Frazer, of Pennsylvania, and his court peculiarities :

" Judge Frazer arrived in Milwaukee on a Sunday evening, in June, 1837, to hold first court. He put up at the small hotel, which stood where ' Dickerman's Block ' now stands, kept by Mr. Vail. On his arrival, he fell in with some old Kentucky friends, who invited him to a private room for the purpose of participating in an innocent game of ' poker.' The party oonsisted of the Judge, Col. Morton, Register of the Land Office, and two or three others - friends of the Judge. They commenced playing for small sums at first, but increased them as the hours passed, until the dawn of day, the next morning, when small sums seemed beneath their notice. The first approach of day was heralded to them by the ringing of the bell for breakfast. The Judge made a great many apologies, saying, among other things, that as that was his first appearance in the Territory, and as his court opened at 10 o'clock that morning, he must have a little time to prepare a charge to the grand jury. He therefore hoped that they would excuse him, which they accordingly did, and he withdrew from the party. The court met at the appointed hour, Owen Aldrich acting as Sheriff, and Cyrus Hawley as Clerk. The grand jury was called and sworn. The Judge, with much dignity, commenced his charge ; and never before did we hear such a charge poured forth from the bench ! After charging them upon the laws generally, he alluded to the statute against gambling. The English language is too barren to describe his abhorrence of that crime. Among other extravagances, he said, that

* As at first constituted, tho First Congressional District comprised the counties of Milwaulcee, Waukesha, Walworth and Racine. After the State was divided into six districts, in 1861, it contained the same territory, and, in 1872, it was reduced by setting Milwauliee County off into the Fourth District.

" At that time, we had but one session of the Legislature, which had adopted mostly the statutes of Michigan, which allowed the court to exercise its discretion in granting stays of execution, etc. A suit came up against a man in the Second Ward, who had no counsel. The Judge ordered the crier to call the defendant. He did so, and the defendant appeared. The Judge asked him if he had anything to say against judgment being rendered against him. He replied, that he did not know that he had, as it was an honest debt, but that he was unable to pay it. The Judge inquired what his occupation was. He replied that he was a fisherman. Says the Judge, ' Can you pay it in fish ? ' The defendant answered that ' he did not know but he could, if he had time to catch them.' The Judge turned to the Clerk, and ordered him to 'enter up a judgment, payable in fish, and grant a stay of execution for twelve months,' at the same time remarking to the defendant, that he must surely pay it at the time, and in good fish, for he would not be willing to wait so long for 'stinking fish.' The next suit worthy of note was against William M. Dennis, our present Bank Comptroller. He, like his predecessor, had no counsel. His name was called, and he soon made his appearance. He entered the courtroom, wearing his usual smile, whittling with his knife in the left hand. The Court addressed him in a loud voice, 'What are you grinning about, Mr. Dennis?' Mr. Dennis replied, that he was not aware that he was laughing. The court inquired if he proposed to offer any defense \ He replied that he did, but was not ready for trial. 'No matter,' said the Judge, 'there's enough that are ready, and the Clerk will enter it continued.' The next case, about which we recollect, was the trial of two Indians, who were indicted for murdering a man on the Rock River. They were also indicted for an assault, with intent to kill, upon another man, at the same time. The trial for murder came off first. They were found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged. On the day following they were tried for the assault, etc., found guilty, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and to pay a fine of five hundred dollars each ! Gov. Dodge, however, deemed it too severe to fine and imprison a man after he was hanged, commuted it to imprisonment for life. The Indians were confined in a jail a year or two, but were finally pardoned by the Governor.

" Judge Frazer soon afterward went to Green Bay, and held a court, from where, for want of a jail in which to confine prisoners, he sentenced a man, for some trifling ofiiense, 'to be banished to Turkey River.' After the court adjourned, he returned to Milwaukee on the steamboat Pennsylvania. She anchored in the bay, and the Judge, who was dead drunk at the time, was lowered by means of a tackle into a boat, and rowed to the landing at Walker's Point. From the efiect of this bacchanalian revel he never recovered. His friend. Col. Morton, took him to his own house, called to his aid our best physicians, and all was done that human skill could devise, for the restoration of his health, but it was too late, the seeds of death had been sown ; he lingered in great distress for four or five days, and breathed his last in Milwaukee, October 18, 1838, aged sixty-two years. The members of the bar, generally, neglected to attend the funeral ; and having no relations in the State, he hardly received a decent burial. His remains were followed to their last resting-place by only two members of the bar (Messrs. Arnold and Crocker) besides a few friends. Years afterward the son of Judge Frazer came to Milwaukee and had the remains of his father removed to the new churchyard in the Fifth Ward and a proper tombstone erected over them."

Andrew G. Miller succeeded Judge Frazer as Judge of the Third District, receiving bis appointment from Martin Van Buren, in 1838. When Waukesha County had been erected, in 1846, the people within its limits had a right, under the Territorial statutes, to two terms of court per year - in February and August ; therefore Judge Miller came to Prairieville for the purpose of afibrding the citizens of the new county opportunity of having justice done them, in February, 1847. The court house had been building for some time, but not being fit for occupancy. Judge Miller opened court in the old Prairieville Academy, now the Lutheran Church. Albert Alden was Sherifi"; George S. West, Clerk ; Guy Carleton, Crier ; John S. Rockwell,

United States Marshal ; E. P. Cotton and D. H. Rockwell, Assistants ; William Pitt Lynde, United States District Attorney, and Alexander Cook, Territorial District Attorney.

The first case was entitled, " Samuel K. Piatt vs. David Douglass and John A. Douglass, action for trespass." Alexander W. Randall was the only attorney appearing in the case, which was decided in favor of the plaintiff.

The second case demanded a jury, and Whitney Hudson, 0. M. Hubbard, George W. Porter, B. W. Knight, Joseph Marsh, Robert Curran, Chauncey H. Purple, William Brimmer, A. R. Hinckley, Elisha Pearl, E. B. Birchard and Charles Butterjunt, " twelve free, honest and lawful men of the county," had the honor of being the first jury. The survivors are few, among whom are Robert Curran and A. R. Hinckley. Some of them declare that the tests "to prove a juror's honesty were not always infallible ; the declaration of free, honest and lawful sometimes being more of a form than of fact."

Circuit Court And Judges

After the adoption of the State Constitution, in 1848, Wisconsin was divided into a number of districts called circuits, for judicial purposes. The county of Waukesha (with Milwaukee) was included in the Second Circuit, as it still continues to be, and Levi Hubbell was the first Judge. He held his first term of court for this county in the Court House, at Waukesha, beginning November 13, 1848. Albert Alden was Sheriff; William S. Hascall, Clerk; J. E. Gallagher, District Attorney; Guy Carleton, Crier, and J. L. Delano, Doorkeeper. The first case was not for a jury ; its title was: " Jason Downer vs. William A. Barstow and Robert Lockwood, for trespass." The damages claimed were $500, and judgment for about half that amount was entered for the plaintiff, for whom Alexander W. Randall was attorney.

The first jury case was the second tried by Judge Hubbell, for Waukesha County, and came up for hearing Nov. 14, 1848. Its title was " John B. Johnson vs. Colon McVean. A, W. & E. M. Randall, attorneys for plaintiff. " The jurors were Archibald A. Anderson, Edwin B. Quiner, John Ferry, Luke W. Cross, Peter D. Gifford, Alfred G. Barr, Asa S. Watson, George McWhorter, Samuel Reed, Albert Fallon, Thomas Mayhew, Jr., and William Crombie, " twelve free, honest and lawful men of the county."

Three terms of court are held annually, at Waukesha, beginning the third Monday of March, the second Monday of June and the first Monday of December. Each term is a special term for all portions of the circuit. The Judges of the Second Judicial Circuit have been as follows : Levi Hubbell, 1848, till his resignation in 1856 ; Alexander W. Randall, appointed in 1856, by Coles Bashford, and resigned after being elected Governor, in November, 1857 ; Arthur McArthur, who was elected in April, 1857 - holding a November term of court that year, after Randall's resignation, though his regular term of ofiice began in January, 1858 - re-elected in April, 1863, but resigned in 1869 ; Jason Downer, appointed to fill out Judge McArthur's term, held one term of court in 1869 ; and David W. Small, the present incumbent, who was elected in April, 1869, taking his seat in January, 1870, and re-elected in April, 1875.

County Court And Judges

One of the most important offices provided for the people by the Constitution is the Judge of Probate or County Judge. He may, in addition to to his legal jurisdiction over the estates of minors and deceased persons, exercise no little influence for good by kindly advice and wise counsel in the numerous unpleasant squabbles over unsettled estates and property liable to be squandered by unnecessary litigation.

The General Government, in the act organizing the Territory of Wisconsin, provided for Probate Judges, to adjudicate the estates of deceased persons, and also those of minors, idiots and the insane. Until the year 1850, the designation of the oflSee continued to be Judge of Probate, when it was changed to County Judge, and the court to that of County Court. As

Waukesha County was not organized until 1846, of course previous to that time matters of administration of estates and the probating of wills were brought before the Milwaukee County Probate Judge.

The meaning of the word Waukesha (properly Wauk-tsha;, is given elsewhere; but a recital of why, how and by whom it was given to the sixteen towns which now comprise this county, and legally adopted as its corporate name, will be of interest as well as of value. After it had become certain that the county of Milwaukee was to be divided, and in fact as soon as any talk was had about measures looking in that direction, the matter of choosing a proper name for the new county was a subject of consideration. Joseph Bond said in the old log store atMukwonago, then kept by Andrew E. Elmore, that if Milwaukee should be divided into two counties, the new one must have an Indian name, suggesting two - Tchee-gas-cou-tak and Wauk-tsha - the former meaning burnt prairie or burnt land, and given by the Indians to the vicinity of Waukesha, and the latter meaning fox, being the Indian name for the Fox River, below Waukesha County. At the mass meeting held at Waukesha, late in 1845, to take into consideration the propriety and advisibility of dividing the county, at which Joseph Bond presided, a committee was appointed to make a formal report. This committee received a written communication from Mr. Bond in regard to what the name of the county should be, in which he suggested two names, expressing a desire that some prominent Indian name given to the locality by its original owners and occupants should thus be handed down for future generations - the only reminder of a race which was rapidly becoming extinct. Those two names were " Wauk-shah" and " Tcheegas-cou-tak," as Mr. Bond wrote them. The committee decided that the latter was a "jawbreaker," and altogether too long a name for so small a county ; but thought the former would do. In their report, however, a majority of the committee, not understanding Indian terms or pronunciation, struck off the final h and substituted w in the name adopted, making it Waukshaw. Mr. Bond opposed pronouncing the second syllable, "shaw," as the Indians pronounced the a in shah like a in aster. But the name was adopted, notwithstanding this opposition from its author, by the meeting, and was so written in the bill soon after presented to the Legislature, which provided for the division of the old and the naming of the new county. But while the bill was before the Legislature, Alexander W. Randall, in response to a letter by Andrew E. Elmore and Joseph Bond, making the suggestion, had the w lopped oflF entirely ; but when the act came to be published the name of the new county was not Wauk-sha, as it should have been, but Waukesha, a word of three syllables, pronounced in all imaginable ways, as suits each one who has occasion to use the term. But the change was otherwise unfortunate. The general public now believes that Waukesha means fox ; it does not, nor has it any meaning whatever. But Wauk-shah or Wauk-tsha, had that been adopted, would have been interpreted fox by those who understood the Pottawatomie tongue.

The above reference to A. W. Randall should be explained by adding the fact that he was merely a lobbyist in favor of, and sent to Madison by, the sixteen towns which afterward became Waukesha County, and had the general welfare of the bill in charge, although Luther Parker, Samuel H. Barstow and Jacob H. Kimball were members of the Legislature and favorable to the division and name of the new county.

It will thus be seen that the honor of naming Waukesha County, although the name is not what he suggested, belongs to Joseph Bond, still a resident of Mukwonago ; but the honor of emasculating the name, of injecting a syllable into it that destroyed its Indian nomenclature, making it a term that is neither Indian nor English; belongs to some one else. He was aided and sustained in his views by Andrew E. Elmore from the first, and his suggestion was carried into eflFect by the co-operation and labor of Alexander W. Randall, at Madison.

The name of this county was originally Pottawatomie and it should therefore have, as nearly as possible the Pottawatomie pronunciation. That, as the term is now written, would be Wauk-ih-shah, the " i " in the second syllable being given just the slightest sound, like " i " in it, and the " a " in the last syllable like " a " in aster.

The utmost confusion has attended the majority of all published elForts to properly spell' pronounce and translate the numerous Indian names for the lakes, rivers and localities in Wau kesha County, of which names the old residents are justly proud. To indicate clearly the form and sound of these terms is not less difficult now than it always has been ; but an endeavor has been made to furnish for the future the Pottawatomie translations of the more prominent terms. Other translators have endeavored to interpret the names given by the Indians to this vicinity, by their knowledge of the Winnebago, Saukie or other languages, and have made miserable failures. These names were bestowed by the Pottawatomies, and therefore can be properly rendered by the language of no other Indian nation or tribe.

In July, 1849, Joshua Hathaway, of Milwaukee, an old surveyor, gave to the public numerous translations of Indian terms, a portion of which are here produced :

" Much of the corruption in the pronounciation of Indian names has arisen from the want of a simple mode of spelling, and from an inaccurate habit of pronouncing words when correctly spelled. Thus in orthography, the sounds au, ahn and ee are incorrectly expressed by a, an and e ; and the orthography au, ahn and ee is inaccurately pronounced by a, an and e or y. For example : Wau-kee-shah is incorrectly spelled Waukesha, and inaccurately pronounced (though very commonly) Walkyshaw.

" One more suggestion : When the double vowel ee occurs in the orthography of an Indian word, the syllable should have a thin, prolonged accent, more especially when it forms the middle syllable.

" Milwaukee, or Milouaqui, of the French settlers, is derived from the Indian name of our own river, Mahn-a-wau-kee seepe, first and third syllables accented. The word is Pottawatomie, probably, and the early French traders gave different significations to it, so that no one of them is reliable.

"Waukesha, the name given to the county wrested from Milwaukee in 1846. As the county was appropriated without the consent of the owners, so it was very proper that the name should be. It is very probable that this name was never seen in English characters until the year 1846, when it was inscribed by the writer of this upon an oak-tree, standing where the town of Rochester now stands, in Racine County. The name was selected by me with the consent of Messrs. Cox and Myers, all being interested in the location, as a name for the future town, and so it appears on the sectional map of those times. When the town began to be settled shortly after, the name was changed by the inhabitants to Rochester, because, like the Rochester of New York, it had a water-power - no further point of resemblance being traceable. In 1835-36, I was engaged in subdividing the townships now comprising Racine County, and from some Indian boys lodged near my encampment, I made additions to my Indian vocabulary ; and with the medium of a fox-skin collar, I obtained this name, understanding it to be Pottawatomie, for 'fox,' which is a favorite name with the nation for all crooked rivers, whose course, in this repect, resembles the eccentric trail of that animal. By giving the middle syllable a thin, prolonged, decided accent, and leaving the last syllable but half aspirated, you have the original, as given to me - Wau-kee-sha.

" Me quon-i-go, from Me-quan-ie-go-ick, likewise the name.of the town. Mic-wan signifies a ladle* - a bend in the stream known by that name resembling a ladle, seems to have given the name. That the resemblance may be detected, it may be well to remark that the Indian ladle is a very crooked utensil, with the handle turned quite over the bowl." i

The above is here given more for its allusion to the name " Waukesha" than for correctness of translation, for it is generally very incorrect, and his statements, except as to Milwaukee, should be forgotten.

This chapter, although brief, was considered by the historian to be of sufficient importance to warrant the expenditure of some time in making it as nearly correct as possible. To this end, all the translations following have been submitted to and indorsed by a Pottawatomie, who lived at Milwaukee, Waukesha and Mukwonago sixty years. They are also pronounced correct by A. Vieau, who has spoken Pottawatomie a half-century.

Milwaukee is a manufactured name, and may mean anything whatever that any person desires to have it. The Pottawatomies called the place Mahn-a-wauk seepe. It conveyed the idea of a gathering-place by the river, seepe always meaning river - a good many ; a full camp. Mr. Hathaway's rule for pronouncing the term is about correct ; but it cannot be made to appear on paper as it sounds to the ear when uttered in the peculiar hitching pronunciation and aspirated accent common to the Indians.

Waukesha is also a corruption ; the original name for fox being Wauk-tsha, a word of two syllables, with the accent on the last. The "t" in the second syllable should hardly be made distinguishable, and the "a" should be sounded like " a " in aster. Wauk-tsha was Pottawatomie for fox. Fox River was Wauk-tsha seepe, below Mukwonago ; above that point, it was Tchee-gas-cou-tak seepe, or Fire River ; also Pishtaka.

The Indian village which stood where Waukesha now stands was not even Wauk-tsha, but Tchee-gas-cou-tak ; accent on the final syllable, the " a " of which should sound like " a " in aster. Its meaning was " burnt, or fire-land." Prairie country began near Waukesha, and according to the Pottawatomies, it was much frequented by fires, as is common to all prairies ; hence its name, burnt or prairie-land.

What is now known as Muskego Center, as well as Little Muskego Lake, was called by the Indians, Puk-woth-sic ; a high piece of ground, a hill. The word should be uttered with the chief accent on the third syllable.

Pewaukee is from Pee-wauk-ee-win-ick, which means " the dusty place." Dr. I. A. Lapham, in 1843, was the first to assail the vulgar translation of " Snail," or " Snail Lake." He did not know* what the translation should be, but declared it should not be snail. Had the Pottawatomies intended to name that body of water " Snail Lake," it would have been called "Nee-nahs," the "a" sounding like "a " in aster.

As-sipuhn, giving a sonorous accent to the last syllable, means raccoon. It is the name' of a small stream flowing through the town of Oconomowoc, whence doubtless came the impression that Oconomowoc meant raccoon.